Il racconto del Elementali
by waterlily12
Summary: Sky, Storm, Lightning, Rain, Sun, Mist, and Cloud; these were known as the seven Knights - or Elements- of the Sky in legends and myths that once appeared out of nowhere and saved the world from disaster and guide it to an era of change. Or so it was dictated in children's books. Nowadays, there are people who have rainbow colored flames that goes by the same names as the weathers.
1. Prologue

**Yay another fanfic when I haven't even updated my other ones haha... I'm just having a serious problem with writing right now and plot bunnies keep on coming and they keep distracting me with all their adorableness. That, and I literally can't write a sentence without blanking out and wondering 'what am I writing about again?'**

 **So... I just decided to screw everything and write another fanfic that has been begging for my attention recently. It's inspired by another fanfic that I have read a while ago.**

 **AU. GEN fic. No Pairings.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

* * *

 **Summary** : Sky, Storm, Lightning, Rain, Sun, Mist, and Cloud, these were known as the seven Knights - or Elements - of the Sky in legends and myths that once appeared out of nowhere and rescued the world from disaster and guide it to an era of change. Or so it was dictated in children's books. Nowadays, there are people who have rainbow colored flames that goes by the same names as the weathers.

* * *

 _Ultima Thule_ , the school for prodigies of both the gifted and ungifted. By that, it means the academy accepts those who were born with exceptional talent(s) and/or display exceptional tenacity to substitute for what they lack.

The campus - stretched far enough to be considered as a small city - is administered by three factions; hence, three abnormally large buildings placed as far as were each corners of an equilateral triangle: Arcobaleno Tower, Mare Hall, and Vongola Castle were the names.

Out of the three, the Arcobaleno Tower is only accessible to the administration while Vongola and Mare are runned by the students. The only time the students were allowed into the Arcobaleno building was during their Initiation Ceremony where they are welcomed into the academy.

Each faction has their own sets of executive board consisting of seven seats. The Vongola Castle and Mare Hall have their Student Councils while the Acrobaleno Tower consisted of a council who held the position as headmasters of the school, or the Head Council if you want a proper name for it.

If you think the Acrobaleno Tower holds most of the power over Ultima Thule, then you got another thing coming. The pair of Student Councils, separate, are only second after the headmasters, but if together have power equal the Arcobaleno Tower. That is, if they could work together despite their differences. In the school's several centuries of history, the moments where Vongola and Mare joined hands could be counted on one hand (it goes to show how often they clash).

The three councils, together, were known through the school as the Trinisette, though it was a mystery as to why since the Arcobaleno Tower has eight instead of seven members like the other two.

Outsiders may think Ultima Thule to be insane as to let its students have that much power, but the core principle of UT is to allow the students free rein over their own affairs; after all, they were the next generation and they needed to learn how to solve problems by would them be able to better themselves against each other while teachers passively guide them along the way; hence, the school administration rarely involve themselves in student affairs. And as proven, this unique system is already better than any other school in terms of success.

The students, as implied earlier, are split into Vongola Castle and Mare Hall the moment they entered the school. The reason can be found within the process of how students are picked to enrolled to Ultima Thule. It was the students' job to find and sort out new potential students each year. So the Vonola and Mare essentially picked the students who will be the new members to their faction. Once the list was created, it was send to the Headmasters for approval. (Note: the age of enrollments vary because some people take longer to spot than others)

If, however, there was a dispute because they somehow managed to pick the same student, they would have to settle it by the rules of Ultima Thule whenever disputes arises.

(Of course, the application process is strictly safeguarded so outsiders have no clue how the academy does its enrollments - because despite the school being known far and wide, it still have plenty of secrets reserved _only_ for their students and staffs and many more that are completely off limits.)

The Students of Vongola Castle and Mare Hall has always been opposing each other, but that never did cause any problems for the school's reputation. Rivalry was something UT encourages, because the students would find ways to improve and beat their rivals. Of course, means with ill-intention is prohibited and when (It wasn't a matter of if's, the school will find out) discovered, severe punishments will be dealt based on the number of offenses. The max would be three, and it's a direct expulsion from Ultima Thule (and that was just a part of it).

All in all, the students provide the talents, the school provides the environment to nurture them - or so the brochure says.

* * *

Sawada Tsunayoshi, for the life of him, didn't know whether he should be happy or angry as he watched the car disappear in the horizon.

His good-for-nothing father just dropped him off at this… this place! (He refused to call it a school. What kind of school look like a castle that came out of some fantasy?)

No matter what his parents said about how 'proud' they were of him for being admitted into this academy, Tsuna does not belong here! One look at the towering school building (fine, it's a school!) that spoke of antiquity that demands respect, and the luscious grounds around it (The freaking fountain smacked down between the central building and the invariably looming ivory gates was all sparkly and huge and silver and - and all things holy!) evince the careful craftsmanship put into every square inch down to _each blade of grass_.

It screamed every bits and pieces of its wealth and prominence!

Last time Tsuna check, he came from a middle class family. His father works at who-knows-where (The postcards he got from the North Pole and Death Valley definitely spoke volumes of his father's supposed occupation as a… a construction worker?) and he rarely comes home most of the time. His mother is a housewife, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, a really naive housewife. His brother was the normal one but he has been sent to study abroad since he'd turned _eight_ (his parents were quite proud of him for reasons unknown to Tsuna). Tsuna himself was known as Dame-Tsuna in his (previous) school and was bullied every single day.

So… how exactly did he get accepted into Ultima Thule? (That was latin, dear Lord, Tsuna had trouble with _modern English_ and this school just had to throw another language at his face?)

Some _baby_ in a black suit and wearing a yellow pacifier and a snazzy fedora followed his father home last week, claiming to be a _co-worker_ (Sure, and Tsuna is Santa Claus) and introduced himself as Reborn. Once he and Tsuna met gazes (and before Tsuna could even question _why_ his father brought a toddler home and claim to be his _co-worker_ of all things), Reborn _literally_ threw a packet and a letter of acceptance in his face.

Then viola, he was in!

The smirk on Reborn's face unnerved Tsuna very much. He had always been in tuned with people and the world around him, so that mischievous smirk on the fedora-wearing baby's face send Tsuna's hair standing on ends and his mind blaring the neon signs of danger. He had a very strong urge to book the next flight to the other side of the globe right then and there. (And the fact that a _toddler_ made Tsuna that wary didn't help his pride much.)

Of course, no matter how he tried to convince his parents that he shouldn't go (he was already having difficulties with regular school, let alone an eminent one!) but _noooo_ , they just had to celebrate.

Sad to say, the commemoration for Tsuna's apparent admittance was way, _way_ better than his own birthday celebrations. It makes one wonder if they cared about him at all. (Tsuna knew deep down - deep, very _deep_ down - that they do and that was all that matters. Kind of.)

He narrowed his brown eyes (flecks of gold were visible if you were to really look) and with a huff, he marched for the opened gates. He was already there, and seeing as his only means of transportation had left, he had no other choice.

He stared, narrow eyes, at the fine line that separated him and the gargantuan school campus as if this was all a big prank that someone was playing on him.

Slowly lifting a step over the invisible line and tiptoed the other side, making sure that a monster wasn't going to jump out of nowhere and eat him. When nothing happened for about a minute, he deemed it safe - but he was still getting that sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?"

Tsuna looked up and saw a _toddler_ (He's been seeing one too many recently) with long navy blue hair and a distinctive scar on her right cheek that looked awfully like flames and a blue pacifier around her neck. Although she looked tiny, like just below his knee, her poise said anything but fragile. The fierce aura that she was giving off - coupled with that scary scowl - told Tsuna that the toddler was someone he should never be crossed with. Like Reborn.

"Um…." He belatedly realized that he was making a fool of himself with what his current posture was like. It was as if he was trying to be sneaky but failing miserably.

The toddler took a step forward, Tsuna stepped back. _Nopenopenope!_ was what that little voice inside his head was telling him. It was the same feeling that he got from Reborn - though she seemed to be on the less sadistic side (like minuscule. On the molecular level.) than Reborn. But it was still enough to scare him witless. And more importantly, wasn't anyone the around him the slightest bit concerned that a two year old baby was at school? Was a baby even allowed in school?!

The toddler scoffed, "Really pathetic."

Ouch. Okay, maybe he deserved that after his blatant attempt of escape.

"Stop making yourself look even more like a moron." She all but commanded and turned on his heel. "Follow me, newbie."

Tsuna really, really didn't -

A backwards glare.

\- _love_ to obey the her command.

The moment he stepped through the gateway though, he felt an invisible tug, then a wave of dizziness, and -

"INNNNCOMING!"

\- the world went dark.

And that was his first day at the academy.

.

.

.

No, Seriously. Tsuna's lights were out for the rest of the day due to blood loss - and probably brain damage.

* * *

 **Uh... Okay, just to let you guys know, I'm not trying to be humorous... This fanfic is more fantasy and adventure (plus family) than humor so don't let this chapter fool you. And it's probably going to be a slow built up in the beginning because in the next chapter or more, there's going to be an indefinite amount of info-dump that I'm sure you guys prefer to skip but I'm going to do it anyways.**

 **This** **is a sort-of-kind-of Magic AU (You'll understand once the engine starts up).**


	2. Tying in Place

**[[[NOTE]]] : First and foremost, I changed the appearance of Reborn and Lal because as I look back at my notes for reference in making future chapters after reading the reviews, I saw in _big bold letters_ (that, apparently, escaped my attention) to change back to my original concept. I'm really sorry about that!**

 **I thank** _PAVeY14, ilovecartoonsgirl, foxchick1, Takuz_ **for reviewing! And to** _Takuz_ **, you were really helpful in catching my mistake (unintentionally or not, I'm really grateful!) And to answer your question, they're... legendary rare(?) I mean, as far as what I have in mind, there's only ever been seven who's been seen as such, so it's a one time occurrence according to the lore I'm making.**

 **I apologize ahead of time for any grammar mistakes and character OCCness if it were to occur.**

 **Again, AU. GEN Fic. No pairings.**

 **Disclaimer** **: I do not own KHR**

* * *

 **Summary** : Sky, Storm, Lightning, Rain, Sun, Mist, and Cloud, these were known as the seven Knights - or Elements - of the Sky in legends and myths that once appeared out of nowhere and rescued the world from disaster and guide it to an era of change. Or so it was dictated in children's books. Nowadays, there are people who have rainbow colored flames that goes by the same names as the weathers.

* * *

Tsuna adjusted the gray tie to his uniform frantically, his hand brushing the small emblem that was stitched to his white shirt collar. It was of a shield with a bullet in embedded in the middle and a winged clam hanging overhead with two guns crossing each other just below said clam. The entire shield was being intricately weaved around by leaves of laurel. Very detailed for something so small, but he wasn't one to judge.

He straightened his black blazer and the matching vest underneath for who knows how many times since he left his dorm.

Tsuna was nervous. He had already missed the ceremony yesterday because he was struck by a textbook - or so he was told - that felt more like an anvil than anything else. (Thank god he had a high tolerance for pain from years of accumulated experience or he would have been out for far longer). He had woke up in the Infirmary during the evening with a note of apology from the culprit who did it and a file that had a layout of the school, his class schedule, and the dormitory he was to stay in.

And boy was his room, in his opinion, _huge. H_ e briefly wondered _why_ Ultima Thule (or UT for short) assigned a single to every student on campus if it was twice the size of his own bedroom back home and then some. But then again, the academy has the land and the money to do whatever the heck they want. His uniforms were provided for him, along with daily essentials, a bed, desk, chair, _thick_ textbooks, and - and a sleek-looking _laptop_ for some reason. (Aren't they generous?)

Not that Tsuna would use it often - he considers himself technologically challenged.

His classes, as he would soon realize, was split into two sessions. The morning class session was for General Education while the afternoon session was - what the _heck_ is the Beginner's Introductory about? It didn't specify any more than those big, bold letters compared to the list of Mathematics, Language  & Literature, History, Science alternating every other day under General Education. There was something more than what was mandated in a normal school curriculum?

More so than that, Tsuna wondered why the campus had to be so big - and why does karma hates him so much?! He had started from his dormitory, and had followed a nice scenic path, but instead of the General Education building, he was bowled over by something that went - "EXTREEEMMME!" - and send him up a tree somewhere off his route.

"Hiii- oof!" He was stuck on a tree, was all that needed to be said about his new dilemma.

"Oh! I'm EXTREMELY sorry about that! I EXTREMELY didn't see you!"

Ouch, his eardrums.

"I-It's fine..." Tsuna released a strained laugh while mentally correcting that he was bowled over by _someone_. And why was he getting knocked around lately?

The brunet tried to unstuck himself between the branches but found himself unable to. He tried a few more times before going slack in defeat. He looked to the white haired teen, who was only white shirt un-tucked from his black slacks, and moped inwardly because the teen was staring at him like some sort of zoo animal. "Um... c-could you h-help me? I'm stuck."

"Oh, Sure!" The teen grinned and ran up to the tree that Tsuna was in. Unexpectedly, he punched the trunk, causing the entire perennial plant to shake like it was going through an earthquake.

"H-hiiiee!" came Tsuna's girly scream and a short-lasting pain later, he was sprawled on the ground with leaves in his gravity-defying brown hair.

"Are you extremely alright?" The teen from before hovered over him with an expression of worry. That was new, Tsuna hardly get people concerned over him other than his mother that it left him blank for a moment.

Because of the lack of response, the teen was convinced that Tsuna broke a bone or two from the fall and started to check where the injury could've been.

"N-no, I'm fine!" Tsuna immediately sat up and assured. It wasn't that high of a fall anyways and like he mentioned before, he has a high tolerance for pain - not that he was going to announce that. "Maybe a bruise or two, but I'm good!"

The boy frowned and looked Tsuna over again which made him more or less uncomfortable. He also adjusted his stance unconsciously for escape in case the white haired teen was going to hit him or something. Tsuna was just that good of a punching bag.

"... Okay, then!" The teen grinned and returned to his jogging path. "It's EXTREMELY nice to meet you!"

Tsuna gave a meek smile as the energetic boy left, but it morphed into horror when the school bell alerted him that class was starting and he still needed to get there! (Provided that he finds it first.)

* * *

The moment he barged into class was one of the many embarrassing moments of his life. All those pairs of eyes zeroing in on Tsuna was just nerve-wrecking and with his bedraggled appearance and licking the floor because air has something against him, his first impression was all but thrown out the window.

"I-I'm re-really s-sorry I - I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi and I recently transferred over -" He bolted up and blabbered on and on until the teacher, Svero Curtis, had to stop him because he was wasting class time.

"Just go find an empty seat." The chestnut brown haired teacher instructed almsot exasperatedly, then mumbled, "since you have already more or less introduced yourself."

Tsuna mutely nodded, his face burned when he heard some of his to-be classmates snickering while others commented on his appearance and how absolutely _lame_ he was. Tsuna then realized that no matter where he was, he would always be looked down upon, but he tried not to let that get to him since he needed to find somewhere to seat.

Scanning over the classroom, he saw several empty seats; two in front, one in the middle, three at the back and - was the attendance just _that_ bad or was the class just that small? (Though roughly fifty students in the _entire_ grade - with a total of about one thousand or so students from kindergarten to _university_ level - really does seem small.)

A waving hand caught his attention. It belonged to a raven haired boy wearing a blue tie with a raindrop motif on the end. Tsuna then noted that everyone in class seemed to have a different color tie, all of which could be found in a rainbow and they all have a different symbol on the end pertaining to a weather pattern.

He found that a bit strange but it kind of explain why one or two students commented on the color of his tie. Tsuna brushed off the worrying thought and headed for the grinning teen who was pointing to the empty seat in front of him that was next to the window on the left and another empty seat of the right - and was it just his imagination or was people glaring daggers at his back?

"Hi! I'm Yamamoto Takeshi, nice to meet you!"

Tsuna smiled nervously as he sat down. The stares were getting more intense and they were drilling holes now. "S-Sawada Tsunayoshi." He sat down afterwards and hoping to become invisible as the lesson resumed.

"Alright, now where were we before the interruption..." Svero pushed his spectacles up as he wrote something on the board - or the map that was drawn in detail on the blackboard. "In the early Renaissance..."

It was history, and Tsuna and History were sleeping buddies. So was Math - which was next, according to his time table, and both ran about two and a half hour long.

Now that combination was just _ugh_.

Tsuna, despite of himself, tried to take notes (and not fall asleep), but it ended up consisted of doodles which was just _great_.

He promptly gave up when the math teacher, one by the name of Rene Cartes, strolled in and catch up on much needed sleep. He had been woken up at six in the morning by the sound of a cymbal of all things that came in through a speaker obstructively installed in his room for about three minutes and he couldn't really go back to sleep with his ears ringing. The school's method of keeping their students in attendance was both effective and cruel.

.

.

.

"Hey!" The teen who had invited Tsuna to sit in front of him gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder. The suddeness caused Tsuna to squeak almost pathetically from his daze. (It turns out, Tsuna couldn't fall asleep, but that didn't mean he was pay attention either.)

"Ah, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" Yamamoto apologized, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "And I'm sorry about yesterday day too..."

"What?" Was the brunet's intelligent response.

"Uh... right, you probably don't remember," Yamamoto laughed awkwardly. "But I'm was, um, the one who send you to the infirmary..."

"What?" Tsuna should consider expanding his vocabulary.

Mistaking his response as anger, Yamamoto apologized again, with a bow and his hands clapped together in front this time. "Really! It was an accident and I didn't think I would have hit anyone when I threw the book so I'm really, really sorry about that!"

Gears grinding at a snail's pace and seeing as the raven haired teen was sincerely apologizing, Tsuna was at a lost as to what to do. He had never have anyone _apologize_ to him before, and wasn't that just a sad thought? But with his other classmates paying attention to them - some whispering among each other while others looked as though they were going to grind him to mesh - Tsuna had to say _something_.

"I-it's fine!" He pushed Yamamoto up from his bow. "Y-you're the one that wrote that note right? And- and picked up the papers that I needed?"

At a nod, Tsuna continued. "T-then it's all fine!"

"But..." Yamamoto still felt guilty. "You were bleeding _a lot_."

"I have a high tolerance!" Tsuna blurted, then shrunk in on himself because of his sudden raised voice. "So-sorry. A-anyways, you - you didn't have any intentions of injuring me right?"

At a shake, Tsuna sighed in relief and smiled. "Then that's all that matters!"

Yamamoto blinked slowly as if the brunet suddenly spoke in a foreign language, but then a smile tugged at his lips. "That's good to hear then! Hey, wanna eat lunch together? The mess hall has some of the best menus compared to other schools!"

"Um..." Tsuna squirmed because those glares were coming on real strong now. Seriously, was Tsuna doing something wrong? "I- I guess -"

"Yo, Takeshi!" An arm was swung around said teen's shoulders and was connected to a short haired blonde with a single long side-braid that reached his chin. He had a green tie with a lightning bolt motif at the end. "I haven't seen you all summer so why don't you come hang out with me and my friends, yeah? We got a lot to catch up!"

"'Sup Dan," Yamamoto greeted with a smile and Tsuna found something off about it. "And nah, I already made plans with Sawada here."

"Who?" The blonde acted as though he just noticed the brunet's presence. "Oh hey, didn't notice you there. I'm Dan Marcello - ah, but you look Japanese so perhaps... Marcello Dan? But it doesn't really matter, does it?"

"Um... S-Sawada Tsunayoshi." Those forest green eyes studied him for half a minute before landing on the gray tie Tsuna was wearing. A smirk tugged on his lips and Tsuna felt his instincts tingled as if he has just been marked by a predator. "Eehh, it's rare to see a Gray Tie. You're either a new student who hasn't found his color or... but then again, most people here came in knowing their Element. The few who don't are usually the Ungifteds."

"... W-what?"

"Dan..." Yamamoto warned sharply - almost dangerously. It was such a stark contrast from the amicable teen from before that Tsuna jumped slightly. "He's new."

"Oh, I see." The blonde smiled pleasantly as if that vague detail answered all of his questions. He removed his arm around Yamamoto and offered a shake to Tsuna. "Welcome to Ultima Thule, Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna tentatively shook it and felt a chill ran down his spin so he quickly let go.

"Well," Marcello stick his hands in his pant pockets and turned to leave fore his group of friends waiting just by the door. "I'll leave you two to your fun."

There was a foreboding sort of silence where his classmates looked at him with pity, smirk, and/or disdain. Tsuna didn't know what he did wrong to earn those looks but he knew that it had something to do with his tie and - what was it? Element?

"Haha, that's Dan for you!" Yamamoto broke the silence with a carefree laugh, though there was just the slightest bit of concern showing in the corner of his eyes. "Don't mind him, okay?"

"Uh..." Tsuna really hoped he wasn't offending the wrong crowd or it would be back to running and hiding from bullies again, and he really hoped that he could start over in this new, _un_ _known_ place. "M-maybe you should have went with him."

"Nah, I wanna hang out with you!" Yamamoto answered with a grin that seemed a bit forced. "Besides, you're new around here so I could show you the ropes!"

Tsuna, somehow, had the twisted thought of Yamamoto hanging him off a building, but he quickly dismissed the thought because that was mean and Tsuna didn't see the raven haired teen as mean.

"That would be great."

* * *

The afternoon class session split students into four levels to match with a student's current standing in Flame Control - though that doesn't necessarily mean that the classes are separated as such. The Student's level of Flame Control goes by Beginners: No Control, Intermediate: Adequate Control, Advanced: Proficient Control, and Expert: Perfect Control. And as you can see, the level gets more difficult as it goes up.

Tsuna, being new to all of this, was obviously placed in the Beginner's levels- but sometimes, there were those who came in placing higher than that. The class - it was just consisted of one class - does not followed the traditional age system, but by the Element of a student.

"What Flame? And what's an Element?" Tsuna wondered as both he and Yamamoto trek along the edge of the forest to get to their respective classes.

"Lal, the teacher for your course, will explain when you get there." He responded. "The graduation in this academy isn't based on the grades you get in General Ed, but on the completion of these curriculum. So as long as you reach Expert, then once the year is over, you're free! But it's really hard for some people, like me! I've been here since third grade, but I'll still only an Intermediate student!"

"... this is a weird school." Tsuna would realized what an understatement that was in the near future.

"Maa maa, the bright side is that once you graduate, you're guarantee a future!" Yamamoto reasoned, but the teen had once thought the same when he first got the gist of how the school works. "Anyways, unlike General Ed classes that are all hosted in one big building, the afternoon curriculum is split into eight facilities located at the center of the school. It's the only time of day where Vongola and Mare students are forced to get along with each other."

"Wait," Tsuna paused, baffled. "Eight?"

"Yup! Because the headmasters personally teaches them!" Yamamoto answered nonchalantly. "Classes are arranged by our tie colors. So since I have a blue tie, I'll have classmates with matching colors. And it will be hosted in the Rain dome."

Yamamoto also informed Tsuna that all Beginner students are handled by Lal despite having different tie colors and that she also handles all Experts. But Expert Students are not acquired to attend class - literally none and that includes General Ed. - unless they felt like it. So most classes only consist of students from Beginners to Advanced, therefore, the social hierarchy is dominated to the Advanced students since Expert Students are rarely seen for reasons unknown to Tsuna. In fact, the Student Councils of Vongoa and Mare were all consisted of Advanced students with maybe one Expert.

"So over there are the domes where our classes will start shortly." Takeshi pointed to the colorful domes in the distant. They were arranged in a arc with orange in the middle, to the right was red, then yellow followed by violet, and on the left was blue, then green followed by indigo. The oddball to the rainbow colors was the gray dome that stuck out between violet and indigo and connecting the arc into a circle. "And they go by weather names depending on the color. The eighth one is gray and that's where you'll be heading to."

"... they're _huge_." Tsuna commented on the size and he wasn't exaggerating when he could compared them to stadiums.

"Well, they have to be." Yamamoto responded with a knowing grin. "And don't be surprised you're going to be one of the few oldest ones in your class."

"And why is that?"

"Most people who starts from the beginning are all elementary school kids!" The teen laughed good-naturedly. "There's probably some first generations in there like you, but most students here are enrolled when they're young."

"Oh."

.

.

.

It's the scary infant he met at the gate, Tsuna belatedly realizes with horror and disblief written on his face because if she's the teacher, then that would imply a lot of things about the headmasters of the academy and that would imply that - _oh my god, babies are ruling the world!_ (Tsuna had a very active imagination thank you very much, and he blamed Yamamoto for failing to mention the tiniest bit of ( _important_ ) info about how their teacher was a _toddler_ of all things good and holy)

And he knew, the moment she made eye contact with him across the field inside the dome, that the baby was _not_ in the least bit good and holy like all babies should be - according to his mother - and that he wasn't going to like this part of the day one bit.

"Brats, five miles around the field, _now._ And whoever doesn't make it under an hour will be running an additional ten!"

Yup. Not. One. F***ing. Bit.

* * *

 **I think I'll end it here before it gets too long. And yeah... OCs... they're minor characters honestly and they'll be tossed (I humbly apologize to them) once they served their purpose in the story... I think. I don't want to insert too many though, as that would be really hard for me to track.**

 **Just to make sure it wasn't obvious, they're in the middle school division of the academy for General ED.** **ell.)**


	3. Children's Tale - Not

**I thank** _jezko1, ilovecartoonsgirl, Sakura Hyuga, Takuz, PAVeY14_ **for reviewing and for the encouragement!**

Sakura Hyuga **: Spoiler(Does it even count as one?) It's gonna be an OC and well, the typical perfect, loving brother that the younger always admire, yet also envy - He's nice to a certain degree**. **:DDDD**

Takuz **: I am so sorry for the typo! (Gonna change that after this) And the tie thing, it's gonna be explained in this chapter. Speculations of Yamamoto, yeah... he's involved and knows about the mafia - Hitman Version! There's probably (Once I reach that point) going to be a mini background story to each of the guardians. The curse is not what you think it is (And no, I can't read minds like Reborn - I wish though - so I'm going to hope what I'm thinking is not what you're thinking.)**

PAVeY14 **: I have something planned for the curse and it's... well, there's a different reason to the curse now (I think). It'll be uncovered later on since I can't reveal everything in the beginning now can I? Gotta have plot twists, y'know. Oh, and thank you for the height humor :D**

 **(I'm just responding to things that I can make a decent response to other than a simple word of gratitude so yeah, I'm sorry if I didn't reply to you)**

 **I apologize ahead of time for any grammar mistakes and character OCCness if it were to occur.**

 **Again, AU. GEN Fic. No pairings.**

 **Disclaimer** **: I do not own KHR**

* * *

 **Summary** : Sky, Storm, Lightning, Rain, Sun, Mist, and Cloud, these were known as the seven Knights - or Elements - of the Sky in legends and myths that once appeared out of nowhere and rescued the world from disaster and guide it to an era of change. Or so it was dictated in children's books. Nowadays, there are people who have rainbow colored flames that goes by the same names as the weathers.

* * *

 _Once upon a time, there were seven knights that brave the world when all was lost. Plants withered under the encroaching darkness, animals and humans alike were dying of despair and chaos. It was then that these knights appeared._

 _No one knew the origin of the seven knights, but it was speculated that, their birth was blessed by the Elemental celestials that created their world._

 _Mist was created by Indigo from gathering of mists, misdirecting everyone in its wake._

 _Cloud was transformed by Violet from a drifting cloud, forever aloof yet never completely astray._

 _Rain came to be by a gathering of rain by Blue, washing away the enemy with each passing step._

 _Lightning and Sun were born by Green and Yellow, respectively, by absorbing a bolt of lightning and a gather of the sun rays, bring to light the true meaning to 'liveliness' ._

 _Storm was a relentless hurricane picked up and tamed by Red, destroying all that block his path._

 _Sky was the only one different from his brothers. He was originally a human to begin with, chosen by Orange because his heart was as vast as the open sky. But despite being so different, his brothers looked up to him as the leader._

 _Together, they have many titles to go by, but the most common and fitting were the Elements of the Sky and the Knights of the Sky; though, they never understood why the seven in question never voiced acknowledgement of the honor._

 _These knights ripped the blanket of darkness away and lead the rest of the world into a brighter place. And to better prevent similar danger from happening, these knights passed on the knowledge of how to draw out the elemental energy that everything thing was born with. It's in every living creature, and every nonliving thing._

 _It has been said that those who could draw out the elemental energy, like the knights did, were the ones who lead the world during times of changes._

.

.

.

"If you have all read and learn this from a children's book, then I want you all to dump it in the trash. Now." Lal viciously struck down and literally jabbed a thumb at the trash bin by the door behind her. Tsuna couldn't believe that the infant actually prepared one for the occasion. "Because that's nothing but a fairy tale and I don't tolerate fairy tales in this course."

The class of elementary students, plus a few people around Tsuna's age (He lamented that even though he was one of the oldest, Tsuna was basically the shortest in his approximate age group. Just _why?_ ), were too exhausted from the five plus mile run (And that was Lal being _lenient_ on the first day!) at the start of class to even grant a proper response. But most did managed to look appalled to be told that their favorite knight's story that their parents often told during bedtime was a fraud. Tsuna wouldn't blame them because he's surprised too - though he had grew out of those stories, it was still one of his favorites.

"This," Lal puts on a ring and raised her hand next to her face. The moment she does, the sapphire gem embedded on the ring was suddenly engulfed by a brilliant shower of blue flames. "Is real the thing. Understand?"

... No.

Tsuna does _not_ understand because that's _literally not **possible** in reality and - ohmygodherhandisonfire! _ He did not understand why the flame was so _blue (Weren't fire supposed to be red-orange?!)_ , and he _definitely_ did not understand why it wasn't _ **burning** her hand away like fire should_.

But Tsuna did not want to raise his hand, because he would be on the receiving end of those deadly glares that could practically _kill._

So Lal continued to expound working theory behind it.

Apparently, the knights were just regular human beings who were able to miraculously access their respective Elements - seven in total - and saved some megalomania from the unoriginal plot of 'I'm-going-conquer-the-world-because-I'm-above-everyone-else'. (It really does put a damp on people's spirit when Lal gave the abridged version.) And the Elements were really just flames of life that sustains all that lives and breathes and just _exists_. It's comparable to the stories about Aura (unknown to most, it was derived from flames).

That flame, when suddenly churning the body's core, meant that someone desperately wanted to keep on living. That is truly the moment of miracle when flames suddenly brighten with the resolve to live and just _flare_. In that physical manifestation, it was no longer an Element, but Dying Will Flames.

(Those who could draw out their Dying Will Flames, or just Flames for short, were just barely one percent of the world; hence why the school population was so little.)

Fundamentally, the flame in everyone is the flame of life, but each person is born to a different type of Elements. And each of the seven flames have different properties to them, which could indirectly affect someone's personality. (There are also rare cases where some are more with multiple Elements as well; but that was like finding a needle in a haystack). And to draw out that flame requires a certain amount of resolve - caries from person to person - because it acts as a channel to connect with their Elements.

The flames were labeled after the weathers, in respect to the omnipresent Elements that all but govern the natural state of the world, for the different colors and types that some people could ignite (some colors rarer than others). But they wouldn't dare to use too much, because that would equate to using up his or her own life before it could replenish itself - the person would have to be both suicidal and idiotic to do that.

Researchers, as of late, began to wonder if Flames were the manifestation of a person's resolve as much as the flames that kept them alive; hence, Dying Will. Because you can't just casually toss your life force around like a toy, that is both naive and dangerous.

These types of information are kept within the circle of people who knew the truth. The rest of the world had their speculations as to how the world was created and structured.

Lal scanned at each and everyone of the new batch of students before she continued onto the lesson of the day. "Your ties are all made of special materials so once you ignite your flames - as I can see some of you have done without proper guidance... " - some kids duck their heads down to hide from Lal's menacing glares - "the material will react with the Elemental energy that your Flames emits, thereby changing into its proper color. This course is to get you started in igniting and have some control over your flames. Once you got that down, you'll be send off to your respective Element teachers and advance to the next Flame Control level."

"How long does it usually take?" One of the students near Tsuna's age raised his hand and question.

"Depends on your innate talent and resolve." Lal answered. "Some can ignite it in an instant, like some of the brats who's tie changed colors already, while others need more time; but the average recorded is more or less two weeks. Then again, you wouldn't even _be_ here if we didn't think you can manifest your Flames. Now, let's get started."

And in less than ten seconds of after Lal instructing everyone on focusing on what their resolves were and giving them each a dull color ring (because you can't draw out flames without a medium of some sort and rings were the easiest that act as one), the room started to lit up into a rainbow of colors - minus orange - one by one. Though it is to be expected that the kids can ignite rather quickly. Their resolves were more pure and honest, and they have a growing mind that can adjust more quickly to changing environments. That, and the fact that most of these kids were born with parents who could use flames so they already had some experience with it.

Those whose biological family members could wield Flames were known as the Gifted, because it's almost a guarantee that they could ignite their flames early on in their childhood (and when they do, they were to be enrolled into UT to learn proper control and continue their studies there). And those who were once civilians but were discovered to have flames by accidental ignitions (the school would know because they have eyes and ears everywhere - and no, they were not stalkers) were known as first generations - or Ungifted, for most students used to jeer at those who can't wield their flames. (Though they prove to have potential through their tenacity.)

Lal's attention was then drawn to the older kids whose faces were screwed in concentration, or other wise known as the first generations. There were some sparks in the rings, but they disappeared as quick as they came.

One in particular, by the name of Sawada Tsunayoshi, wasn't able to do anything at all. Well, she expected as such, he was already in middle school when Ultima Thule came to accept him when most students came when they were way younger. She may be known as an effective (read: sadistic) teacher, but this part of flame control is entirely up to the student - well... unless she wanted to put him through a life and death situation...

 _... Nah._

It wasn't worth her time when she has other students to deal with, like those conceited brats at the Expert degree. Just because they have mastery over their flames does _not_ mean they can run off and do whatever they want! (Most of them were supposed to be assistants in the afternoon sessions!) If she ever sees them on campus (because she has each and every one of their faces memorized), Lal was going to use them for target practice at gun point.

Tsuna, meanwhile, had a feeling he had just escaped certain death - which disrupted his flow of concentration again. (He was getting distracted by all those pretty flames that should be _beyond_ reason - at least, in the logic of normal people.)

* * *

As Tsuna stared up at the white ceiling of his room, thinking back to what he had learned, he really hope that he could make some progress with flames. Or else, he would be forever a gray tie and that was literally like _labeling_ himself as the subject of contempt - and that would bring him back to being No-good Tsuna.

And the thought of being about to wield fire sounded very cool in Tsuna's opinion.

"Resolve..." He mumbled, staring at the hand that once had a ring on it (he wasn't allowed to take it home since Beginners don't have control so they might cause an accident if they were recklessly drawing out their flames). "What exactly _is_ my resolve?"

Does he even have one to begin with?

.

.

.

 _Clang Clang **CLAAANNG!**_ went the cymbals from the speakers somewhere in his room, and Tsuna tried very hard to stuff his head under the covers and his pillow. But no matter what, his ears were still ringing and probably bleeding a bit by now.

"Whose bright idea is to have _those_ things as alarms anyways?!" Tsuna complained as he ripped the bed covers off and stomped towards the bathroom to prepare for the day.

One day, he was going to get those sound-proof earmuffs that he saw on the TV commercials. That way, he could get more sleep.

Once he got everything prepared, he locked his room with a swipe of his student ID. Albeit he has a lock and key system to his door at the moment, he was told that they would reinstall it with a security system that would be able to recognize flame signatures like what everyone at school has once they can lit their flames at will - it was better and far more convenient than having to take out an ID to swipe every single time.

When Tsuna arrive to class, eyes were yet again directed at him. He reflexively ducked his head down and walked across the room to get to the window seat he was at two days prior.

"I heard from my little brother, he couldn't get a single spark going."

"Well, he was a civilian before. Those Ungifted rats learn at a snail's pace."

"Shush, he'll hear you."

"So? The Ungifted needs to learn that they've zero talent compared to the rest of the academy."

Tsuna's ears burned when the whispers stabbed at him without restraint, and before he could sit down, a foot stamped forcibly on his chair.

Tsuna followed at limb and up to meet the face of a navy blue hair teen with streaks of yellow. He has the same tie as Yamamoto's but he was definitely not as nice like the latter.

"I don't think you deserve this seat." The unknown teen smiled down pleasantly, though the underlying threat in his tone was not without notice. "A gray tie like you would just ruin Takeshi's image as the holder of the purest Rain Flames."

Tsuna shrunk into himself and hie'd when the teen took him by the collar and lit the ring on his hand, engulfing it entirely.

"Word of advice, useless people like you should just go home."

Tsuna closed his eyes, expecting to be burned alive and -

"Hey, that isn't a very nice thing to say."

\- was saved by none other than the person who Tsuna was told not to associate with.

Goody.

"T-Takeshi!"

"Let go of him." There was that sharpness again. The brunet offhanded noticed that slim cloth-bag that was slung across his shoulder. It was bear the length of a katana and the thought of Yamamoto bringing a weapon to school send chills down Tsuna's spine.

... Not that he hasn't noticed the weapons that other people carry around the hall yesterday.

"It isn't his fault that I wanted to hangout with him, is it?"

"But he's a -"

"Gray tie, I know," Yamamoto moved to personally stop the hand that was about to land a solid punch of the brunet. The flames on that fist was promptly nullified by forcibly by Yamamoto. "But he's not going to stay one forever, or he wouldn't be here. You and everyone else know _why_ the academy takes civilians in."

Tsuna briefly wondered what they were talking about. Weren't they all civilians? Just those who have these supernatural powers?

"Tch." The attacker relented and walked away, though not before pointing at the brunet. "Just because you got Takeshi's protection doesn't meant anything, got it gray tie? Weaklings like you are just trying to take advantage of Takeshi because of how he is!"

Tsuna felt offended for being accused of using people as a shield. He would never do that - not that he had the opportunity to ever use someone anyways. There was a slight churning of heat in his chest just at the thought of using people for his own benefits. He could take insults to the face because he knew that they held some truth in them, but being accused of something like this? That was a slander to his name!

The heat started to hum an agreement to his train of thoughts, but it quickly subsided after Yamamoto gave a pat of his shoulder.

"Yo, sorry about Albert." The popular teen grinned sheepishly and almost exasperatedly. "People here tend to be... very narrow-minded."

N-not a problem..." Tsuna mumbled. and at more disdainful looks shot in his direction, Tsuna sighed. "But... may-maybe you shouldn't talk to me anymore."

"Eh?" Maybe it was his imagination or was that hurt flashing across his eyes?

"I'm Dame-Tsuna," The brunet started while keeping his head down. "They're right in what they say about me. I'll only bring you more trouble by being near you."

Tsuna didn't feel like attending class anymore so he left the classroom. Ultima Thule may not be bias towards its students but that doesn't mean a thing to the social hierarchy.

This was a school for prodigies of both the gifted and ungifted. But Tsuna neither had the talent nor the tenacity that could compete with the geniuses of the world. In this academy, being born with talents meant something different. It wasn't that you're exceptional in an area of study or anything - but it was an added bonus if you are.

It was their Flames and the ability to use them at will.

Tsuna knew for sure that it was near impossible for him to reach the level of the students here in UT. But he didn't want to quit... he didn't want to see the disappointing eyes that his parents would use to look at him every time that he let them down.

He has been enough of a disappointment as it is.

* * *

 **Info dump, 'nuff said. And a bit insight into the lore! (Though, the children's story version is never accurate.)**

 **Yeah... I'm not really good at those bullying (I'm trying to understand why some people are narrowed-minded like that tbh) or any of those emotional/internal conflict stuff but... uh, I'm going to try. Practice makes perfect right? Right.**

 **Recently, I been feeling like my brain (head, skull, whatever) is being squeezed into a small container. If that's a headache, then I now officially experienced one. If not, then I have no idea what is going on and it's not letting me concentrate on my studies or on writing. (Sleep relieves it though, but I don't think I would want to sleep 24/7 just to avoid it)**


	4. Drowning With the Pressure

**Thanks to** _LoirEStar, ilovecartoonsgirl, Takuz, PAVeY14_ **for reviewing!**

 **Takuz** : I'm giving out hints... if people can pick them up or bother to read the A/Ns for that matter. And you're... somewhat on the right track. Fables aren't exactly accurate because they're an over exaggeration create by people to make something look better or just lead them in the wrong direction. It can branch off as it passes down - especially if it's oral. When I was talking bout first generation, I meant those whose parents are, by no means, able to use flames... or aware of them for that matter. (A helpful analogy would be to look at first generation college students, they're people whose family members did not attend college) Tsuna's lives under a rock thanks to an oblivious mother and a secretive father and brother, so of course he would be considered a 'first'... to those who doesn't know his family's background - including Tsuna himself.

Yamamoto isn't one because, in my story, his father is a retired hitman. People who is in the mafia cannot completely server their connections with it. Yeah I know, well, it just has to do with the students' pride and the environment they live in :p (I technically prefer not to write on those kinds of antagonistic scenes since I don't know much about it, but well, I'm trying to show how society will treat a person whom they deem to deserve no respect because of their lack of capabilities. Strength and character rules above all - and Tsuna lacks both... for now.) I'll tell you now, but the conditions are going to be a bit different in how Tsuna will enter HDW mode and... I don't really think activating Hyper Intuition relates to being in HDW mode. In my opinion, HDW mode _enhances_ it, not being HI's on and off switch.

 **PAVeY14:** Lol, nice prediction and thank you for your concerns. ^^

 **I apologize ahead of time for any grammar mistakes and character OCCness if it were to occur.**

 **AU. GEN Fic. No pairings.**

 **Disclaimer** **: I do not own KHR**

* * *

 **Summary** : Sky, Storm, Lightning, Rain, Sun, Mist, and Cloud, these were known as the seven Knights - or Elements - of the Sky in legends and myths that once appeared out of nowhere and rescued the world from disaster and guide it to an era of change. Or so it was dictated in children's books. Nowadays, there are people who have rainbow colored flames that goes by the same names as the weathers.

* * *

He hadn't been into his subconsciousness too often. (If Tsuna hadn't been in that dark void dozens of times before, he would have been in panic and immediately jumping into the conclusion that he had died.)

Instead of feeling the damp coldness that darkness usually was the epitome of, Tsuna felt warm and safe. He had that feeling every time his consciousness came here.

The first time he has been to this dark space was when he got lost in the local forest near his hometown. His mom specifically warned him not to go off by himself but who could blame him? He was only six! And the neighbor's dog had some kind of grudge against him and ended up chasing him all the way to the edge of the forest.

With Tsuna running blindly, of course he didn't know he had entered the forest without knowing. He didn't know how deep into the forest he went, but he only stopped at the encounter of wolves.

(Yes, _of course_ that forest has to have wolves. It was just Tsuna's rotten luck that he attracted trouble wherever he went.)

He had cried even harder at the scary looking animals that was obviously the ancestors to modern day dogs (He must have offended some canine god in his past life or something).

Then things got a bit blurry. Tsuna was almost _positive_ that he remembering his surroundings _glowing_ like a bright sun, and coalescing into a huge tower of orange blames in front of him.

What made him so sure was that right afterwards, he had lost his consciousness and entire this completely dark world. That was where he met -

A few meters in front of Tsuna, a swirl of orange began to appear and growing larger and larger until it was the size of his fist.

Tsuna beamed at the new, welcoming sentient presence. Even though fire was supposed to be nonliving, he felt a small strand of life in this ball of fire. It was warm, bright, and _familiar_.

His parents had told him not to play with fire because it was dangerous, but from the moment he first encountered the orange ball of fire, Tsuna knew that he would be safe from anything that would harm him.

It also became his first friend that would appear whenever Tsuna was feeling particularly down.

He named it Fire-san. (He was six back then okay?! He didn't know any better!)

"I'm alright," Tsuna assured meekly as the ball of flame circle his body as if to check for any sign of injuries. Another thing was that although his friend in this dark world couldn't communicate with him, Tsuna could clearly tell what it was trying to convey.

"I just had a very rough day." Tsuna confessed.

Even though Fire-san was small in appearance, Tsuna knew that if it ever took on a human appearance, it would be that of an adult. So when there was an invisible force - the flame's aura - gently patting down Tsuna's head, he wasn't surprised at all.

In fact, he got the vague sense of a father-figure comforting him, because although the touch was warm and gentle, it was also strong and protective.

"You know, a few weeks ago, my father... " Tsuna started to talk about what has been happening in his life recently; how he had been doing at home and school, about the admittance and transfer, and the ball of flame would hover steadily in front of Tsuna, as if listening attentively.

.

.

.

"I was wondering…" Tsuna stared hard at the ball of flame in his subconscious. "You look like those Flames that my classmates seem to be able to light up so... are you - do you belong to my Element?"

There was a brief moment where he felt no emotions from the ball of fire and the emptiness was so unnerving that the brunet panicked.

"I-I'm sorry if t-that's a touchy subject!" Tsuna blurted quickly. He didn't want his friend to think he was self-centered for thinking that it belong to him or anything! "I-I just - well, there's just this connection, y'know? The first time I met you, I had this sense of familiarity like I should have known you all my life, like- like family! Yeah, and -"

There was ruffle of his hair, a gesture of comfort - and he swear he just heard the echo of a chuckle!

Tsuna, for a moment, thought he was back in time -

 _(He stared up at the hand that was always so big and strong compared to his tiny ones. It would always rest on his head in affection, and he never mind at all that it would ruin his hair if it meant he could feel protected by its presence.)_

\- the image was a blur so he could only assume that it was his father who'd always reached out to him with those hands when he was once tiny and vulnerable... if only to insult his height indirectly. (Iemitsu never did have any qualms to make a jab at Tsuna, even if he had done it without knowing how much it would hurt the latter.)

Then the alarms in his head went off.

* * *

Tsuna woke up with a start and rolled to the side in the nick of time or he was pretty sure that tonfa would have crushed his skull.

"W-wha…" There was a familiarly warm heat in his chest and it was alerting Tsuna of danger. _Wait, what danger?_

"Skipping class is against the rules, Herbivore."

Tsuna looked up and paled when he saw a demon in the form of one Hibari Kyouya. He only knew because he had been informed (or rather, warned) by Yamamoto about the teen; black hair? Check. Steel-grey eyes? Check. A blazer draping down his back with a red armband that said 'Discipline' in Japanese? Check. Wield a pair of tonfas? Tsuna did not need to confirm that one. Bloodthirsty aura? He really, _really_ did not want to take notice.

Hibari was the feared Prefect of the Disciplinary Committee that operates independently from other committees under Vongola's Student Council. The Council couldn't really do anything to the committee because one, it was doing it's job and two, no one orders Hibari around but Hibari himself.

Truth behold, Hibari monopolized the Disciplinary Committee in both Vongola _and_ Mare, and neither faction dare to refute the prefect because the last time some idiots tried, it was dubbed as the Day of Judgement and Hibari was the judge.

So they let Hibari have his way - well, he was going to have his way anyways.

He didn't think he would meet infamous Demon on his second day at this academy.

"I-I'm sorry Hibari-san!" The heat in his chest intensified and something told Tsuna scrambled away from the Tonfas of Doom taht was about to strike down. "Hiiiee! I-I didn't -"

"Lying will result to being bitten to death." Hibari interjected, because he had seen the brunet skipping class. He was going to deal with him earlier, but another fight came up in another area so he had to bite those herbivores to death before coming back to bite Sawada Tsunayoshi to death.

"Hiiieee! I- I'm sorry! I'll never do it again so please don't bite me to death!" Tsuna pleaded as he ran because even though he loathes his incapabilities, he still wanted to live.

There was a hum - almost a buzz - in the back of his head that told him to - _lean right_ \- and he blindly followed, clumsily, with a few hops on his right foot.

 _Tuck to the side and roll_ , it whispered again and he did as he was told, unknowing following through the falling momentum of the movement prior.

 _Now run._ That was something he didn't need to be told twice of doing.

He didn't realize it then, but because he evaded all of the Prefect's assaults, he made it onto Hibari's obscure hit list (He wouldn't know whether to feel proud or scared for his life if he ever finds out). As of now though, he was focusing on running for his life.

Tsuna didn't stop running until he got to the dormitory and locked himself in his room.

"That… that was close." Tsuna breathed, eyes still wide in horror. His hand went to his chest, thanking whatever higher beings up there for saving him yet again. Ever since the accident with the wolves, Tsuna had developed a strange survival instinct that warns him of anything that may threaten him - he attributed it to the first meeting with Fire-san. But it only works under life-threatening situations or he wouldn't have to deal with bullies.

... He then realized, with no small amount of horror, that Hibari pose enough of a threat to his life for the heat _and_ the humming to kick in - and boy, was _that_ scary thought!

Tsuna frowned, however, when the heat was still there and his mind was still buzzing somewhat. It was barely noticeable though, so maybe Hibari haven't given up on trying to bite Tsuna to death?

The thought was comforting enough so Tsuna brushed off the foreboding feeling. He was going to have a nice shower, and then sleep (because there was no way he was going to get food with Hibari within the perimeter!)

The next day, that feeling intensified and Tsuna found himself scared of going to class. But if he doesn't, it would give more reason for the demon Prefect to bite him to death and so, he, very reluctantly, went.

He didn't meet Hibari (thank the God for that) but the foreboding was starting to send him chills because he knows something is going to happen.

He really wish it was just people plotting to gang up on him. He could face the punches, the jeers, and the spites to the face instead of whatever the heat was forewarning him about.

* * *

 _ **"Whoa Takeshi! Your flames are so bright!"**_

 _Why are you looking at me like that?_

 _ **"Hey Takeshi? We're friends right? Can you do me a favor?"**_

 _Can't you do it yourself before asking me?_

 _ **"With you on our team, we can't lose! Don't worry about us and keep training! We'll look forward to the results!"**_

 _... team? Last time I check, there is no 'I' in 'team.'_

 _ **"Man, can't you do better than that? I mean, you are supposed to be stronger than us."**_

 _I'm trying dammit! I don't see you guys making something of yourself!_

 _ **"We expected better from you Takeshi. Maybe you should practice more of your swordsmanship. To better control those powerful flames of yours so that we won't lose again, right?"**_

 _I have been practice! What more do you expect from me? Do you expect us to win every single match that we fight in? Why can't you understand how hard it is to control those flames of mine? Why, why, why, why -_ crack, clang.

 _... huh. My arm won't move..._

 _ **"The last member, Takeshi Yamamoto, is unable to fight. The winner goes to the opposing team!"**_

 _Oh..._

* * *

.

.

.

Yamamoto Takeshi was absent.

He wasn't seen him in any of the morning lectures - but then again, his class was half emptied. Even though Tsuna told Yamamoto not to be his friend anymore, Tsuna still worries.

... Maybe Yamamoto was sick?

Again, Tsuna brushed off the alarm bells in his head in favor of the somewhat comforting assumption. (Because getting a fever wasn't something life-threatening - not when the school has the best medics around.)

Yamamoto Takeshi wasn't in class the next day either. It was nearing the weekends, and Tsuna had a thick pool of dread filling the pit of his stomach with the constant buzzing making it worst (he could hardly sleep last night!).

"I really hope Takeshi feels better soon." Someone said as Tsuna passed through the hallway. "He's been in the main infirmary for over a day already. "

 _What?_

"He should have been all healed though like the rest of his teammates. Sun Flames are the most effective cure to all physical wounds!"

"I heard he refused treatment..."

"Maybe he's in a slump? I mean I would if I were to duel an Advanced student, even when I rely on my team!"

"But he's _Takeshi_! Don't tell me he can't even handle that much even when he's one of the students who has the most potential!"

 _What injuries? What duel?_

The conversation was getting worrisome by the second and how did he even miss all of the rumors yesterday? Was he really _that_ distracted?

Though he confirmed there was something wrong with Yamamoto since upon hearing the news, the heat caused an awful constriction in his chest. Without himself realizing it, Tsuna had already left the General Educations building and running towards the Main Infirmary of Vongola Castle.

He was told that main building of Vongola was where most Advanced students like the linger about, that and there are quite a lot of them residing in the building themselves since it has some of the better practice equipment. Same can be said for Mare and Arcobaleno - though the latter was reserved for teachers and staffs. A puny Beginner like him would only serve as an appetizer if he ever take a step into such a dangerous nesting place.

Not that it mattered now, because something was going very, _very_ wrong and he was certain that Yamamoto was involved. And he didn't even need to see the directory because the humming was perhaps the best guide anyone could get.

He barely allowed himself to catch a breath once he was in front of a door with the gold plaque that labeled 'Main Infirmary'. His stomach did a flip and something told him to -

 _Open the goddamn door already!_

\- and he did.

... He did not expect to see Yamamoto Takeshi ready to kill himself with a katana - _that thing he was carrying two days before was a real weapon?!_

"What are you doing?!" Tsuna cried out in horror and practically flew to the other side of room to stop the teen from committing suicide. (And where was the doctor when you need one?!)

Yamamoto blinked - Tsuna tried not to grimace at how absolutely blank they were - and registered the person that as holding his uninjured arm in place. "... Sawada?"

"What were you trying to do?" He reiterated his question, carefully observing the teen before him.

"I…" Yamamoto paused and looked at what he was holding.

.

.

.

Yamamoto laughed. Not the happy ones, but the self-loathing laughs that people use when everything was falling apart, and they just gave up because there was _nothing_ _they can do to make it better_. Tsuna found himself doing that that several times before so he would know what that would sound like.

... He didn't think he would associate that kind of laughter with the now not-so-cheerful raven haired teen.

"I'm really pathetic, aren't I?" The sadness, loneliness, and self-derision in his voice was absolutely disheartening. "My teammates were relying on me to win, but look at what happened? We were completely demolished by the upperclassmen from Mare in the duel. We were all injured to the point that three were unconscious and two came out with fractured bones. I'm the only one who managed to got off with just a few bruises and a fractured arm. My peers thought I should have been able to my teammates since I have a strong Flame quality. But they don't _understand_. They weren't in the arena to face the assaults, they didn't know how hard the fight was, and they didn't know _my limit_. Everyone seems to expect something out of me and - and _I just can't take it anymore._ "

... At least Tsuna knew why he wore those smiles all the time.

Yamamoto had to meet everyone's expectations, but no one met his. No one saw Yamamoto as who he is, yet they still rely on him to solve the problems. And that unknowingly put so much weight that the teen started to crumble. How long has people been doing that to him?

"I…" Tsuna choked on the lump in his throat but pressed on. "I'm not really sure what _exactly_ happened but - but you can't just kill yourself just because of one failure!"

"You would know all about failures wouldn't you," Yamamoto snarled back. "Dame-Tsuna."

"... I do know." He couldn't even be bothered to flinch at the degrading nickname as his mind scrambled for what to say in a times like this (It's a delicate situation here!). "I practically failed _at life_. Life is cruel, that much I know. But we only live once, Yamamoto-san. Don't end it just because you feel pressured by everyone's expectations."

He shouldn't be the one to comfort Yamamoto, since he has similar - yet also the opposite - problems that he didn't know the solutions to. But if he wasn't going to save him from drowning in despair, then who would? Obviously not his so-called friends when they didn't even notice Yamamoto's current mentality. He knew he has no rights to criticize Yamamoto's choice of friends, but some friends they turned out to be. Not that Tsuna was any better, since he gave up on Yamamoto when the going got tough.

He pushed him away once, he wasn't going to do it a second time. Not now. _Not ever._

He leveled eyes with the teen and a wave of _something_ washed over him that encouraged him to be firm and confident. " _ **You don't have to meet their expectations**._ "

"I don't…?" It seemed that those were the words that Yamamoto had been waiting to hear for his entire life as amber-brown eyes returned slowly return to the liveliness that they once held.

"No, of course not." Tsuna never wavered in his voice, and Yamamoto saw the determination flared as brown orbs suddenly flashed orange. "Unlike me, you have a future ahead of you Yamamoto-san, so don't end it so early. Just throw away everyone's expectations but your own. I wouldn't want you to leave over something like this. _Your family_ wouldn't want you leaving them like this."

Tsuna slowly lower the blade wielding boy's arm, his eyes never straying from the other's to convey that he was, indeed, earnest. "Are we clear?"

Yamamoto blinked life back into his eyes and managed a weak - but real - smile. "Crystal."

"Good," Whatever spell that Tsuna was under disappeared and he jumped a feet in the air as he immediately let go of his hold. "Hiiiee! W-where did you even _get_ that Yamamoto-san?!"

"Eh? This?" The boy waved said object around.

"D-don't do tha -" Tsuna gaped when all he saw was a shinai. "W-where - That's not possible! _How_ did it even turn into a wooden sword?!"

Yamamoto laughed. "I didn't know you can be funny Sawada!"

"I'm being serious here!"

"Hey, what's with all the noise?" A man in a white coat barged in with a scowl. "This is the infirmary and - _Takeshi_ , how many times do I have to tell you put that sword down?!"

"Was I supposed to count?" The boy returned with a grin.

The doctor, Kurt by the name tag, groaned. "Why doesn't anyone take a doctor's order seriously these days?"

"Hey doc?" Yamamoto said and with a sheepish look, he gestured towards the cast he was wearing. "Can you heal my arm?"

The man leveled the teen with a hard stare and released a sigh mixed with exhaustion and relief. "About time."

He walked over to where Tsuna and Yamamoto was and retrieve something from his pocket.

It was a scalpel.

.

.

.

 _Why the heck did he take out a scalpel?!_ Tsuna inwardly cried in alarm and worry. Was the doctor going to do surgery on Yamamoto? But he looks just find minus the -

Sparkly yellow _Sun Flames_ lit the scalpel.

\- Tsuna watched, in much waves of relief and amazement, as Doctor Kurt brought the scalpel near Yamamoto's bruises. (He could only attribute the scalpel to being the medium that drew out Sun Flames) Upon close contact, the injuries healed within minutes. The broken arm, though, took more time, but Yamamoto was brand new within half an hour's time.

"There," Kurt finished off as he placed his instrument back into his coat pocket. "You're all good physically." There was a pause as if Kurt was debating with his thoughts before relenting, "... How are you feeling?"

"Dandy!"

"... I see." Kurt looked at the boy blankly, then turned his attention to Tsuna - who reflexively shrink under the gaze. "You didn't get permission to come in did you." It was more of a statement because the brunet would've need _his_ permission to come in.

"Um…"

"I don't mind if it's Sawada, doc," Yamamoto informed. "He's a friend after all."

"Huh, alright then." He went to his desk and jot down a few notes on the clipboard. "Since you're practically all fixed up, you can leave - And Takeshi?"

"Yeah?"

"What matters is that you have done your very best." The words were vague but it helped lift a huge weight off of Yamamoto's shoulders. His lips quivered and he ducked down.

"... Okay."

* * *

 **Tada! Let me just say, this is an AU so yeah, Takeshi did not jump off the roof but tried to commit Seppuku... this is just one of the scenes that spoke out to me in the manga and I just couldn't help but add incorporate it in. Although there are plenty of buildings to jump off of, I read enough fanfics to get tired of the suicide-by-jumping-off-the-roof thing (sorry if I offended anyone), so yeah.**

 **I just wanna say, do _not_ look down on depression and** **peer pressure, they can very dangerous to one's psychological health when left unattended.**

 **Don't expect me to spend the same amount of effort on the meeting with the others though. Again, I read enough fanfics to get tired of how Tsuna meets his guardians... and the scenes would be predictable too since it's pretty much _cannon._**

 **On another** **note, Tsuna is slowly showing his capabilities :D**

 **And Fire-san's presence is there to explain and showcase Tsuna's HI lol...**

 **I'm leaving a lot of things unexplained aren't I? Well, I consider this the beginning arc where everything is being laid out bit by bit so if you don't have patience, then I don't think this fanfic is for you. (Gosh, I should have gave the warning in the first chapter... oh well.)**


	5. Clashing Differences

**I thank** _Revantio Van Cario_ , _ilovecartoonsgirl, PAVeY14, LioPyro7890, Takuz, Keimichi, and_ _makubex000_ **for reviewing last chapter!**

 **PAVeY14:** Oh dear... uh, I'll try to clear things up without revealing too much haha... Well, compared to... _normal_... bullies, Hibari is much more dangerous with his tonfas that could literally break a bone or two with just one smack. His Intuition, as mentioned, does only occur in life-threatening situations so far because, well... he hasn't been in much dangers except bullies and uh... all I can say on this is that no, his intuition doesn't _consider_ bullies as dangerous (I'm still developing the working theory to Tsuna's unpredictable Intuition so I can't say much on that, sorry.) It _does_ relate to Fire-san, but I won't tell you what. Thank you for your input and I'm happy you enjoy the story so far!

 **Takuz:** ... No comment on Fire-san's relation (But you're... on the right track... haha... I'mma shut now. (￣ω￣;)) Erm... well, since they were in his subconsciousness, it's kinda obvious that Tsuna understood? Y'know, like... telepathy of some sort. I'm working on the others... some of their get-togethers are really just similar to the Cannon 'cause I'm bot creative and... I don't want to deviate _too_ much in how they meet, I chalk it up to my appreciation of the manga/anime.

 **Keimichi:** Oh my god, I - thank you! I was torn between grinning like an idiot and crying tears of joy because your review relieved some of my doubts on how I'm doing so far with my writing! (I am very self-conscious with what I write so yeah) To be honest, writing long descriptions really tires me out - and I'm not good at it anyways - but writing short ones doesn't seem to be enough so it somehow turn into what it is now and really, I wasn't sure if it was good or bad lol... I have nothing to base bullying off of than books I read and animes I watch haha, but it's really good to hear from some that it's decent! So again, thank you so much for your input!

 **I apologize ahead of time for any grammar mistakes and character OCCness if it were to occur.**

 **AU. GEN Fic. No pairings.**

 **Disclaimer** **: I do not own KHR**

* * *

 **Summary** : Sky, Storm, Lightning, Rain, Sun, Mist, and Cloud, these were known as the seven Knights - or Elements - of the Sky in legends and myths that once appeared out of nowhere and rescued the world from disaster and guide it to an era of change. Or so it was dictated in children's books. Nowadays, there are people who have rainbow colored flames that goes by the same names as the weathers.

* * *

Sparring against each other is one of the better ways to improve a student's control over their Flames so they would often challenge each other to matches, either in single or in team matches of up to seven participants on each side. It's also how Vongola and Mare settle their disputes most of the time - as per school rule.

There were combat facilities built for the occasion as well; some located in the center of the campus along with the evenly spread eight domes, while others are found in random places such as in the forest, next to a dormitory, the three main facilities of the academy, etc. This is so if people want privacy, they would go to the more secluded arenas, as well as having different terrains to fight on.

Yamamoto had been in such a duel against the Advanced students from Mare in a facility in the center of the school. He didn't actively accepted the challenge though, his peers did. Mare students had provoked some of his classmates, and he was asked to participate as the Rain of the team that consisted one of each weathers. (It's the standard ine up because it's the most balance to have one of each.) They thought that they have a higher chance of winning because they have Yamamoto, who holds the purest Rain Flames known throughout the academy.

That said, different flame users have different level of flame purity, which are directly proportional to the purity of their Element. The purer the Flames, the higher the aptitude the person has towards their Element. It allows for the person to become more in tune with the natural surroundings that relate to their Elements, which in turn, gives them a better understanding of how to control their Flames.

But better understanding does _not_ equate better control. The purer the Flames means they're also more concentrated with power; hence, it requires more effort to be put under control. So people who have purer Flames may be able to make something of their innate potential, but the result would depend on the effort put in. That's why even though Yamamoto had attended Ultima Thule since third grade, he was still only at the Intermediate level (In the higher tiers of the level, but still).

In the end, they were facing Advanced students - which wasn't against the rules since people challenge stronger opponents to get stronger - who had better control of their powers.

So... Yamamoto's team lost badly.

Tsuna didn't like fighting and he definitely didn't like how the this school promoted such activities.

...Then again, most people earn respect through the showing their strength in their respective area of expertise - and combat, unfortunately, was one of the many ways to show how.

"So... people admire you because of the purity of your flames?" He concluded when Yamamoto explained the story.

"Pretty much." The other replied lightheartedly. "Colonello, the teacher for Rain Flame users, told me that I have the purest Rain Flames ever recorded in written history... and that's pretty much where it all started. But there are people in other Element categories that are similar to me! I already told you about Hibari Kyouya, right? He's an Advanced Student with the highest purity Cloud Element as shown by his flames."

Tsuna shivered just thinking about the demon Prefect that he had met recently. No _wonder_ the Student Councils couldn't do anything to Hibari, the Prefect has the power to back up his actions.

"Is there something wrong Tsuna?" Yamamoto inquired when he saw the brunet casting wary glances here and there as if a monster was going to ambush him.

"N-nothing." Tsuna answered quickly. "Just- just checking if Hibari-san is lurking around. He - uh ... he has something against me. I think."

"Eh?" The raven haired teen blinked in confusion. Did the brunet had a confrontation with the demon Prefect already? But even so, Hibari doesn't care to keep track of the students he beat up unless they managed to catch his attention somehow (like how Hibari was - and still is - dead set on biting Dino to death because the latter had the guts to self-appoint himself as _Hibari's_ student instructor and lived to tell the tale, or the grudge the Prefect held against one... or two... or three... of the headmasters because he had lost to them in a fight).

So... Yamamoto came to the conclusion that Tsuna must have done something really, _really_ amazing! "Wow, you're friends with the demon Prefect now? That's incredible, Tsuna!"

The look Yamamoto received from Tsuna conveyed the latter's doubts of the former's sanity.

"I'm serious!" Yamamoto held his hands up in a gesture of defense. "The only way to get yourself in Hibari's list is to do the impossible!"

"... What list?" Tsuna all but deadpanned.

"... you don't want to know." The sympathy in Yamamoto's eyes made Tsuna want to cry a river.

"Herbivores..." Speak of the devil and he will come.

Both boys froze on their tracks, and sensing the predatory glare boring a hole in the back of their heads made them sweat bullets.

"H-Hbari...!" Yamamoto turned and greeted nervously. "W-what's up?"

Tsuna and Yamamoto gulped when steel-gray eyes moved between them, then narrowed into annoyed slits that resemble that of a snake's. It wasn't a good sign.

"Skipping class without permission will not be tolerated."

"But..." Yamamoto wanted to protest that he got a hall pass from the doctor... but then he remembered that Hibari doesn't care. As long as the Prefect finds anyone breaking the rules, on accident or not, he will bite perpetrators to death.

He could probably fend off Hibari for a few minutes if he was by himself, but with the addition Tsuna... that was pushing it.

So, Yamamoto did what most people do when they had to go toe to toe with the demon Prefect.

"RUUUUUUNNNN!"

"EH?!"

...

Albeit they were able to escape, Tsuna lost Yamamoto somewhere along the chase across campus when the latter chose to distract Hibari for Tsuna since the brunet couldn't keep up with their speed. Mind you, Tsuna was rather confident when it came to running thanks to years of escaping from bullies, but when he saw how fast Yamamoto and Hibari went... Tsuna realized, with dread, that his speed wasn't even on par with those two. (Tsuna argued that _humans_ are supposed to have an average of _five miles per hour._ So unless they're actually monsters in disguise or just plain _insane_ , there was no way they could run just under a _cheetah's speed_.)

Now that he wasn't under any death threats, Tsuna began to feel bad for leaving Yamamoto to the... Skylark... even though the latter volunteered. But just when he was deciding whether or not to go back and help Yamamoto (though he doubt he could do much), his instincts tingled. _Oh no._

 _Swish!_

"Hiiiieee!"

"What the hell!"

.

.

.

Tsuna belatedly realized, as the red flames finished eating the fuse of the bomb just a few feet away from him, that he avoided one calamity just to step into another one.

His luck is, and forever will be, horrid.

* * *

Just when Tsuna thought today was going to be much more smoother than yesterday, the door slammed open and in came the silver haired Italian that he had the pleasure of pissing off because, apparently, Tsuna got in the way of his dynamites. (Who in their right minds would let a student to bring _dynamites_ to school anyways?! Then again... Yamamoto brought a katana.)

When the other students in class turned towards the door, they were stunned into silence by the scowl... and edged away from the newcomer. It spoke plenty about the teen's reputation in school. (Was Tsuna's luck just _that_ bad to have that person as his classmate?)

Tsuna willed himself to become invisible -

"Yo Gokudera!"

\- but of course, Yamamoto just _had_ to know the red tie teen. ( _Whhhyyy?!)_ "How was your trip?"

"None of your damn business, frickin' idiot." The one now named as Gokudera barked back, green eyes filled with disdain towards the happy raven head.

Then, his gaze shifted just a bit and saw Tsuna sinking behind his desk.

Gokudera blinked before narrowing his eyes. "You."

Tsuna eep'd and hoped to disappear as Gokudera stomped towards the brunet. His disappearing act was obviously not working when the silver haired teen slammed his hands on Tsuna's desk roughly, effectively causing the latter to jump about a foot.

"U-Um... Do you - do you need something, uh... G-Gokudera-kun...?" Tsuna tread carefully while being conscious of the whispers students were saying to each other about how Gokudera was going to cause another ruckus.

It compeltely instilled the impression that the silveret was a class A delinquent who was also secretly a terrorist trying to bomb the school sometimes soon, then laugh his evil laugh and declare the world his and - Tsuna should really, _really_ stop his inner rambling and tone down his imagination.

"How."

"... Huh?"

"How did you do that?!" When Gokudera lifted his head, the brunet saw sparkles. He repeats. _Sparkles._ Like those blinding lights from disco balls mixed in with some stars, the crescent moons and - the silver haired teen looked as though he just made a once-in-a-life-time discovery.

... THat look was directed towards _Tsuna._

"Do what?" The brunet edged away from the ecstatic - _too_ ecstatic - teen.

Tsuna should have _known_ this was coming.

It happened yesterday, after the silver haired teen had almost throttled him to death out of pure fury. His pockets had been filled with dynamites so the shaking cause some to fall to the ground surrounding them... and because Gokudera was furious -

( _"I'm going to blow you till kingdom come for being on my practice ground!"_ )

\- his Storm Flames reacted to that anger and _flared_. In turn, it lit the fuses of the dynamites that littered the ground and Tsuna, with alarm ringing in his head, had somehow managed to get both him and Gokudera away in a safe distant.

(Tsuna was beginning to see the pattern of how he makes friends, and it wasn't something he was proud of.)

After that, Gokudera just stared at Tsuna like he was a Yeti or something - which, last Tsuna checked - which was this morning - he wasn't.

The bomber placed a hand on Tsuna's shoulder so that the latter wouldn't have a chance to escape, and pointed at Tsuna's eyes. Tsuna has a feeling that this wasn't going to be anything good.

"That flashing orange!" Then Gokudera realized that he made the brunet uncomfortable and let go with a ninety degree bow. He had it in his head that he must show Tsuna respect because the latter saved his, and Tsuna quote, 'insignificant' life. The fact that Tsuna might, _possibly_ , be an UMA puts the cherry on top.

"Eh? Tsuna's eyes changed color?" Yamamoto gathered from the conversation and immediately became interested. "So it wasn't just my imagination?"

"You saw it too?!"

"... What are you guys talking about?" Tsuna cried out because he was being left out without a single clue as to what was going on. Eyes don't just change colors - at least, not _his_ eyes. (Tsuna's eyes were brown and he hope, dearly, that they _stay_ brown.)

"Do you know what this means?!" Gokudera exclaimed instead of answering, shaking Tsuna thoroughly in ecstasy as if, again, he just made a big discovery. "Have you heard of those children's crap about the Elements?"

"Isn't that something you have been looking into for years?" Yamaoto offered helpfully. "Something about them being... whatchamacallit? UFO? UNO? USSR?"

"It's UMA, you idiot! And I recently learned that they can change their eyes colors! One of them can change to orange too!"

"So... you're saying Tsuna might be a UMA?"

"Yes!"

"Haha, cool!"

Tsuna had the pleasure of wearing the 'WTF' face for once in his life.

"Wait, what's a UMA?" And Yamamoto just _had_ to ask.

"Che, it's an Unidentified Mysterious Animal! God, you really are a dimwit as people say! How can you not know this?! They're the unfathomable creatures that lives within the shadows of our society since the dawn of time and... " Tsuna got front row seat in hearing Gokudera's lecture of UMA's and honestly, the brunet felt dumber and dumber with each and every theoretical nonsense that the bomber spouted out of his mouth.

Who knew the delinquent-looking boy to be a genius?

.

.

.

If it was any other situation, Tsuna would be very happy to eat lunch with friends.

... But Gokudera has been sticking to the brunet like a leech, asking questions about what had caused his eyes to change color and what chemical compound his glands exude to make it happen and what environment he was in before coming to this school and did that affect any of his physical components and - the brunet just didn't have the heart to stop Gokudera's flood of questions.

"Can't I eat my lunch in peace?" Tsuna pleaded finally. "I'm hungry and I _really_ don't want to lose my appetite over... over your talk about human anatomy!"

"Sure, Tsuna-sama!" Tsuna hated to be addressed like that, but Gokudera was too adamant that he needed to address his savoir with respect. The imitating look he gave Tsuna was one that spoke of pain if he doesn't comply. And it scared Tsuna into relenting because he could already imagine Gokudera shoving a dynamite into his throat and - yeah, he should stop.

Besides, that strange instinct of his was telling Tsuna that the bomber was harmless... Towards him anyways.

Gokudera jot down notes like a scientist making observations over an experiment as he watched Tsuna eat his sandwich while Yamamoto deemed it was his turn to talk, and talk he did.

... It didn't make Tsuna feel at peace at all. That and people in the mess hall kept stealing glances - or just openly staring - in their table's direction and wondering why two of the better known students in school were hanging out with a nobody.

Somewhere along the line, a thought struck the brunet as he took notice of something. A lot of the students he has seen don't look Japanese... or Asian in general.

"Um... guys?"

Both Gokudera and Yamamoto stopped and gave Tsuna their undivided attention, which was _weird_ because no one spare Tsuna any attention before now and it had the brunet shrinking away in nervousness.

"Uh-um... d-does everyone here speak J-Japanese?"

"No, they speak different languages, though I do know Japanese."

"Oh, I see- wait," Tsuna paused. "then how come I can understand them then?"

Last time he checked, Tsuna did not understand one lick of Italian - not that he had learned it anyways. Or any other language outside of Japanese... and some English because it was a mandatory secondary language at his old school.

"You don't know?" Gokudera arched a brow.

"I'm new."

"He's a _civilian_." Tsuna shot Yamamoto a confused glance but the latter just grinned back.

"Oh." Gokudera mumbled and was lost in his musing for a minute before explaining. "Most people here are from different countries, so the academy took measures to limit the language barriers between students. With Mist Flames' property of Construction, it makes it very easy for Mist Users to become Illusionists, and allow then to cast a spell over the school that acts as a real-time, omnipresent translator."

He drummed the table with his fingers before adding, "You can say that we're under an illusion twenty-four-seven in regards to understanding different languages. Some people are sensitive enough to feel barrier working on them when they first entered through the school gates."

Yamamoto also gave an input, "Also, you noticed how everyone you have met called me by my first name even when we weren't that close right? That's because since most of the students here were groomed in western culture, so they don't know the eastern customs. I learned to adapt to it since I don't want to correct _every single person_ that talks to me. You'll get used to it over time."

The more Tsuna learns, the more he finds the academy bizarre.

* * *

 _Ding!_

Tsuna jotted at the mechanical sound and turned towards the laptop he swore he had never opened before... or turned on for that matter. The screen light up brightly with a blinking winged-mail icon with a seal of flames on it.

 _ **[You've received a Writ of Challenge]**_ Flashed the plain black font across the screen below the icon. _**[Would you like to lift the seal now?]**_

Tsuna scrutinized the message as if trying to find some inside joke; there was no decline option.

"..."

"... ..."

"... ... ..."

"HIIIIIEEEEEE?!"

Apparently, there are only one option for duels.

.

.

.

"-up. Or I'll blow you till kingdom come!"

"Maa maa - oh! G'morning Tsuna!" Yamamoto greeted cheerfully he and a rather disgruntled Gokudera saw Tsuna entering the foyer. As it turns out, they all live in the same dormitory, which was a convenience for them when they all decided to accompany each other to school from now on. (Technically, it was Gokudera who suggested it but Yamamoto heard and decided to invite himself as well). "Haha, what's with the doom and gloom?"

"I-It's nothing..." Tsuna sweated slightly, gulping.

"Tsuna-sama?" Gokudera inquired, voice laced in concern, contrasting the threat he had just thrown at the swordsman earlier. "Did you not get enough sleep? Or did the idiot here bothered you with all his blabbering earlier? I can just stick a dynamite up his -"

"Maa, that isn't very nice Gokudera!" Yamamoto sweatdropped. "We're all friends here, ne?"

"Hell no!" The bomber growled, hands itching for his dynamites as he distanced himself several feet away "The day I get on friend terms with a smiling idiot like you is the day the earth burns to ashes!"

"Y-you two -"

"But isn't that doomsday or something?"

"Exactly!"

"But we're getting along so well right now!"

"How does this even -"

"Haha, so that means the world must be ending soon!"

"Guys -"

"... F*** off."

"WHa - Hiieeee!" Alarms went off as Gokudera's hands suddenly carried five dynamites - _Where did they even come from?!_ \- and Tsuna swatted them away before the bomber could light them up with Storm Flames. "Gokudera-kun! You and Yamamoto _live_ here!"

The bomber didn't like he look particular care for that minor detail; better yet, he looked more _inclined_ to destroy the building.

Tsuna switched tactics with exasperation. " _I_ live here!"

That got something from the silveret. His anger dissipated into horror and _dogeza_ in front of the brunette. "I'm so so so _so_ sorry for not putting Tsuna-sama into consideration!"

"H-Hiiie G-Gokudera-kun, up! Up!" Tsuna wrapped his hands around the bomber's arm and pulled when the latter showed no signs of getting up himself. "I-I told you that you don't have to do that!"

"Maa maa," Yamamoto placated, placing a hand on Tsuna's shoulder. "It's not like the dormitory would be harmed in any way, it's Flame resistant!"

"... EH?" The brunet blinked. "You could've told me that!"

"Haha, you guys were so into your act that I didn't want to interrupt!" The swordsman grinned, to which Tsuna sweatdropped in reply. "Oh, by the way, did cha get that Writ of Challenge thingy?"

Tsuna flinched, he had been so into placating the two that he had momentarily forgotten the electronic message he received last night. He was too much of a chicken to open the mail to view the details so he closed the laptop and tried to sleep it off, all the while hoping that he had dreamed it all up. However, when he woke up this morning, the first thing that his eyes landed on was the closed laptop... and reminded him of the night before.

... It wasn't a dream, he checked; he still didn't open the message though.

"Y-yeah..."

"Cool! I got it too!" The ravenet grinned, slinging an arm over Tsuna's shoulder as he guided the brunette off to school. "The three of us are going to be teammates!"

"... eh?"

"Who the f*** whats to team up with you!?" Gokudera hissed while keeping in step on Tsuna's right. "It'll be better if it's just Tsuna-sama and I!"

Tsuna was so lost as he looked from his left to his right. "W-wait, wait, wait! Yamamoto? Gokudera-kun? We? Team? What?!"

Yamamoto blinked owlishly. "You didn't read the details?"

"W-well..." His cheeks turned slightly red, averting his gaze to the ground. "I- um... didn't exactly _open_ it because - um... I-I thought it was... a joke? Haha..."

"In a way, it is," Gokudera joined in, fire burning in his eyes. "How dare those cocky bastards think they're even worthy of challenging Tsuna-sama! Don't worry Tsuna-sama! I'm gonna make those bastards kiss the floor once we enter the arena!"

"..." Tsuna smiled wryly, not watching to correct the bomber that it would be Tsuna that would be kissing the floor. "So... can you two explain...?"

"Sure!" Yamamoto took the initiative before the silveret, which prompted a protest from the latter.

"Oi! I was going to -"

"Since it's a formal challenge send with writ and all, school rule says that you can't decline -"

"- Obviously, not when the appointment was made before hand! The details were written in the writ -"

"- that it would be a three versus three team match -"

"- don't interrupt me -"

"- eh~ but you did it first -"

"Um..."

"- doesn't matter, it's not like you can remember most of the details anyways -"

"G-Goku -"

"- Maa, how do you know that -"

"Y-Yama -"

"- I still remember that time we were forced to work together on an assignment!"

"G-Guys..."

"Eh? It went smoothly didn't it?"

"As f***ing smoothly as you forgot every. Single. _Sh***y. Thing. That. I. F***ing. Told. You._ "

"... Haha you got me!" Yamamoto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I didn't exactly remember anything apart from it was a team duel!"

"... You little sh** -"

"Both of you...!" Tsuna had to wave his hands in the air to catch the duo's attention - a part of him idly cursed for being the shortest of the three - when they showed no signs of paying Tsuna any heed. "Please stop arguing with each other!"

Yamamoto simply laughed while Gokudera saluted with an overly ecstatic agreement.

The brunet sighed, wanting to massage his temples, but thought better of it because he didn't want to come off as being annoyed at the two. "Back to the main point..." Tsuna frowned when he thought of something.

"... wait, I don't see what the ones who challenged us have against you two... aren't you guys supposed to be - um - I don't know... admired? ... Worshiped?"

Yamamoto stifled a laugh, finding Tsuna's choice of words amusing, while Gokudera scoffed in distaste - not at Tsuna obviously.

"Che, it would be a nightmare if they start doing that to me." The bomber muttered with a shudder.

"Maa, we'll only know if we go and ask directly, right?"

Tsuna nodded in agreement but paused midway when he realized the implications. "H-Hiiee?! D-Doesn't that mean we have to _fight?!_ "

"Of course!"

And... the brunet fainted.

.

.

.

"C'mon Tsuna!"

"Nooooo!" Tsuna still couldn't believe it wasn't a dream - he had hoped that was after he fainted, but of course, that was just wishful thinking.

"Tsuna-sama, we have to go or else there will be a penalty!"

Yamamoto and Gokudera were, literally, trying to pull Tsuna away from the tree he was hugging (the brunet had declared himself to be a tree huger and refused to let go) when the afternoon classes ended.

Despite having to go through another day with Lal that could break anyone's down mentally, Tsuna has shown great obstinacy to not give up by giving his two friends a run for their money. There were also people watching their antics but the trio ignored them.

"I rather take the penalty!"

"... Even if it means being through into the Pacific Ocean and swim your way back?" Gokudera asked in disbelief and awe.

"Y - WHA - UWAAAH!" In the split second that Tsuna became alarmed enough to loosen his grip just the slightest, Yamamoto successfully pried the brunet away - though he had to suffer the recoiling force.

"Haha, success!"

Tsuna ignored that fact that he had to resign to his fate. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN _THE PACIFIC OCEAN?!_ "

"Well, it is said that if you don't accept a formal challenge, it would mean that you're a coward and needed to be taught to have some backbones..."

"How does that even - there are _sharks_ in the ocean!" Tsuna wailed. "Don't they care about the students safety at all?!"

"One of the Headmasters once said, and I quote, 'Ultima Thule doesn't need students without backbones. If you can't come back alive, then you're better off dead now than later.'"

"..."

"Haha, don't worry Tsuna!" Yamamoto gave the brunet a slap on the back, causing the latter to stumble forward from shock. "I mean, it can't be all that bad can it? I bet sharks make great sushi rolls!"

"That's -"

"Ahem." came a cough. "As much as the drama was amusing to watch, can you three hurry it up?"

"Hiiieee!"

"... Oh _god_ , I don't think I have heard of any _girl's_ scream reaching that high before."

"How dare you insult Tsuna-sama!"

"Maa maa, Gokudera, they've been waiting patiently after all! Hiya Albert!"

Tsuna took one glance at the opponents waiting for them ( _have they been watching the whole time?!)_ , and it was enough to make him hide behind Gokudera.

It wasn't that their appearance was _that_ intimidating, but the way they held themselves. Broad shoulders and straight backs carrying a certain confidence that Tsuna would never dream of having. Their smiles were like a predator's after finding its prey - and Tsuna think of himself very much like the prey that was about to be gobbled up. All things considered, the air around the trio exude power and predictably, very, _very_ frightening.

"Tch," Albert clicked his tongue, blowing a few strands of of yellow-streaked blue hair away from his eyes. "I still don't get why you have to hang around trash like him."

"I dare you to say that again, bastard." Gokudera growled.

Albert was about to retort back when the person next to him, one with a yellow tie and a sun motif stopped him with the motion of a hand. "Now, now, no need to get so hostile before the fight, isn't that right, Sirene?"

In response, the girl, with a violet tie and cloud motif, that has been leaning against the wall opened her icy silver-green eyes. "Shut up, Hansen."

"Whatever you wish, captain~" The now labeled Hansen grinned back lazily, one hand running through his messy sand blonde locks while the other motioned into a shrug.

She ignored him and pushed herself up, sauntering over to her two companions; all the while narrowing her gaze as it went from cheery Yamamoto, to a disgruntled Gokudera, then finally, to a shrinking brunet. "You're really pathetic, aren't you?"

Tsuna flinched, but said nothing against the comment.

She sighed as if it was a waste of her time, then spun on her heel, long raven hair following the motion, and left for combat facility #3 (they were named after numbers since there are quite a few of them). "Let's get this over with, I don't have all day."

"W-wait!"

Sierne paused, glancing over her shoulders at the brunet, mildly amused that the latter had enough audacity to speak when he was shaking all over. "What."

Tsuna jerked at the irritation lacing her voice, but steeled himself for his question. "W-wha - why do you guys send t-that writ?"

"... What will you do if I tell you?"

"H-huh?!" Tsuna was taken aback by the answer... or the lack thereof. "W-well... I um... I don't know?"

"Then there's no point in wasting my breath."

Hansen chuckled as he guided Albert away when the latter seemed to want to add more salt. While doing so though, he looked back, forest green eyes glinting, and smirked. It was one of those sinister curve of the lips that send chills down Tsuna's spines. The brunet knew, right then and there, that Hansen wasn't a book that can be judged by its cover.

He mouthed something incoherent, but it made Gokudera tense for a short second.

Tsuna didn't know what to make of that, but he does know one thing. "... I have a bad feeling about this."

.

.

.

Tsuna didn't think there would be _people_ watching. Then again, considering this was one of the main combat facilities used for tournaments, it was built in the shape of a stadium to allow viewers.

"This is public?!"

"Well, duh." Hansen retorted back good-naturedly. "Official writs are announced school wide, because unlike the unofficial challenges, the wins and loses from writs are tallied up in our records."

"Hiiiieeee?!"

"Ouch" The dirty haired blonde winced. "Seriously, are you sure you aren't a girl?"

"N-no!"

"Maa," Yamamoto tapped his shinai against his shoulder. "It's more lively this way, ne?"

"Right? That's what I like about you Takeshi!" Hansen laughed in a carefree manner. "The Rain that goes with the flow. Are you sure you don't wanna reconsider the offer to join?"

Tsuna tilted his head. "What?"

"Nah," Yamamoto smiled amicably, clapping a hand on Tsuna's shoulder. His eyes turned sharp for a split second to silently tell the other to back off or else. "I'm good from where I am."

"What a shame," Hansen shook his head and sighed. He then turned his head towards Tsuna and Gokudera, the twisted smirk back onto his face. When he spoke again, he was still addressing Yamamoto. "I pity you for having to deal with an Ungifted and a street rat."

"Street -"

 _Fizz, boom!_

Hansen languidly leaped back against an exploding dynamite, landing in a crouch with his hands in his pockets. He laughed, "Getting antsy there, aren't we?"

"Go to hell!" Gokudera growled as he launched for dynamites against Hansen, who only toss reflect them into he air with a few decisive kicks. While smoke descended around them, Hansen pushed off of his feet and disappeared with a boost of Sun Flames to his speed.

"Well," He reappeared behind Gokudera, though... he couldn't do anything when a shinai came swinging down in between them. He moved back, distancing himself against Yamamoto with a light smile. "I guess the match officially started."

"Get out of my way," Gokudera pushed Yamamoto from the front with one hand while the other held more dynamites, making the other frowned slightly.

"This is a team fight."

"Since when -" Albert took this chance to kick up his snowboard, letting it flip into the air several times before hopping on and igniting it with Rain Flames. Gokudera met said snowboard that had leap up overhead with an arm, letting himself be pushed away to gain distance. "- did I agree to team up with you?!"

Tsuna looked back and forth between his friends, who had started to bicker again... _in the middle of a fight_. He didn't know if they were that confident in their abilities or they're idiots. The brunet really hoped - he ducked and rolled away from a few deadly needles - that it was the former.

"Oh, nice reflexes," Hansen complimented as more needles magically appeared in between his fingers. "I guess you have _some_ decent qualities after all."

"W-why are you doing this?" Tsuna asked hesitantly, half of his focus on Hansen while the other half on his two friends.

"Eh~ for fun I guess."

Tsuna made an indignant sputter.

"First," He send four needles towards Tsuna, the latter sidestepped but wasn't quick enough. Two of the needles managed to hit his shoulder, causing Tsuna to yelp. "to see you suffer. To think outsiders like you can get into this school really injured the pride our pride, the ones with actual power in life."

"And second," He three two more set at Yamamoto and Gokudera. "It's time to put those Pure Flame holders in their places. They shouldn't act out of line just because they're _special_."

"Bastard!" Gokudera glared from over Yamamoto's shoulder when the ravenet blocked the attack for both him and Gokudera - Albert was keeping them close and away from Tsuna by creating a barrier as he circled the two. "I dare you to come say that to my face!"

"Ho ho~" The Sun Flame user chuckled. "The street rat is quite bold. But honestly, you're really _pathetic_. I bet you couldn't be this cocky if you don't have those Storm flames of yours."

"Oi, Albert," Hansen called, raising his hand and snapped. "Switch."

Mist surrounded both of them and once they disappeared, they took each other's place. Hansen's grin widened. "Quite useful to have Mist as my secondary flame, isn't it?"

Yamamoto's gaze sharpen once more. With a flick of his wrist, the shinai in his hand transformed into a real katana. After a split second decision, he went for a frontal attack to gauge the opponent's reaction. "... _Shigure Souen..._ "

"... _Axle of Rain!_ " Yamamoto attacked with a thrust... only to be reflected away by a saber. Surprised Hazel brown clashed with icy silver green and both stepped back.

"I see you're finally joining the fun, Sirene." Hansen commented lightly. The mentioned person didn't reply... or that she couldn't because a certain bomber acted up again.

"Oi, get out of the way!"

"Eh - ? Whoooa!" Yamamoto hastily sliced a few explosive sticks to pieces. "That was close!"

"No sh**!" Gokudera hissed. "Now out of the way or I'll blow you too sword-freak!"

Yamamoto blinked, then tilted his head in confusion as he pointed to himself "Sword-freak?"

"Who else am I talking about?!"

"Haha... that girl over there?" Sirene glared back in return but it relaxed into a deadpanned when the hotheaded bomber... started to attack his own teammate. Her hand twitched at the sheer _idiocy_ of the outcome.

"So predictable." Hansen chuckled.

"You..." Sirene side-glanced at her teammate as confused murmurs from around the arena entered her ears. "planned this didn't you?"

Hansen did a helpless shrug, but made no comment.

She took that as a confirmation and walked towards the wall that confined the field. "... You and Dan make me sick."

Hansen sneered and did a bow. "I should take that as a compliment, oh the almighty chosen Cloud."

...

Tsuna coughed when he kissed the ground. His shoulder was going numb, taking his arm with it. It can't be... poison could it? He rolled away when the thrumming in his head told him to, barely avoiding another chuck by a snowboard.

His movements were beginning to get sluggish because of the Rain Flames he was exposed to earlier.

"Tch," Albert kicked his weapon and it slide without much friction towards Tsuna. His instincts told him to dodge, but his reflexes were too slow. The snowboard hit his solar plexus and - was it his imagination or did he just hear a crack?

He clutched his abdomen, his eyes darting from Albert to... he frowned. Why are his friends fighting each other? They... they're not supposed to - _they'll hurt each other!_

 _Stop stop-you'renotsupposedtofight- **STOP!** _

Something in him _flared._

"Goku -"

"Oi, you still have time to get distracted?"

His bizarre instinct kicked in again, telling him crouch, spin and sweep out his leg. He did so with surprisingly more fluidity in his movement then before, as if he was being guided into a follow through.

He stood back up and tried to make his way towards Gokudera and Yamamoto - Rain Flames fall from the air to slow his movement once more - _**you're in my way** -_ \- but he caught the snowboard aimed for his head with natural ease and smacked its rider down with a jarring swing.

Orange invaded into brown like a wild fire, causing the other to blink owlishly.

"... I don't have _time_ for this." Tsuna uncharacteristically _growled_ , throwing the snowboard down and - _smash! -_ broke the wooden board in two at the center with a stomp.

There were soft gasps from the observers who saw, but most people were focused on Gokudera and Yamamoto.

Tsuna's gaze darted to one part of the stands where people were sitting, but redirected his gaze once more after a second. He didn't even spare the stunned teen another glance as he practically _flew_ towards his two friends with abnormal speed. His body ablaze with an unknown heat waiting ( _waitingwaiting-nonoletusout!)_ to be released, but something pushed it back down, reasoning, almost exasperatedly, that it was too early.

Tsuna ignored his apparent inner turmoil, his eyes solely focusing - in his vision - on the clashing blue and red.

" **Enough**." His voice seemed to echo as he was suddenly in between Yamamoto and Gokudera, all the while clasping a firm grip on the arm that was about to swing a katana and another arm around to throw a dynamite. The two blinked wide eyes of shock and awe at the brunet's sudden appearance... and the change in the once-gentle aura.

" **Are you two children?** " Tsuna was speaking lowly, yet his voice boomed in their ears - and those in close proximity. His solidifying sunset-orange eyes flashed with anger as they dart from Gokudera to Yamamoto. Red and blue unknowingly glowed with a hint of familiarity before they blink back to emerald green and hazel brown, respectively.

"H-haha..."/ "N-no..." Yamamoto and Gokudera answered simultaneously..

The brunet sighed softly, eyes closing for a few seconds before opening again, showcasing clashing orange and brown once more. "Put the weapons away."

The bomber and swordsman was confused and reluctant to do so, but another scathing look from sunset-orange orbs told them otherwise.

When the two flame users suddenly withdrew their weapons, most of the observers were baffled. Even Hansen, who was close but not enough to hear the conversation nor did he saw Tsuna's changing eye colors since the brunet's back was facing him. What Tsuna announced next, though, was out of his expectations.

"We're forfeiting."

It wasn't as much as the words that shook Hansen, but the _authority_ rolling out of his voice.

 _It came from the kid?_ Hansen frowned, finding that impossible.

"You actually think you have a say in this?" He tried to make a jab. "I don't think the street rat -"

"I don't know _why_ you're calling Gokudera that," Tsuna cut in coolly, casually glancing over his shoulders. It was then that Hansen and Sirene saw that conflicting orange and brown, the eerie phenomenon making the brunet more intimidating when he narrowed his eyes . "But I suggest you stop. He is as much a _human_ as you."

 **"Understand?** " Orange settled for the brief second that he spoke those words, along with an instant spike of aura that spoke of strength and dominance, before going back to fighting against brown for control.

"Y-yeah..." Hansen blinked owlishly, his voice seemed not his own as he answered obediently.

"Good." Tsuna draw out a breath, eyes closing. "We're leaving."

The brunet pulled his two friends towards one of the exits of the arena, leaving everyone mystified as to what was going on. Albeit, they started jeering because of how anti-climax it was and exclaiming how much of a chicken the retreating trio were for leaving in the middle of a fight.

"What..." Hansen shook his head out of his daze. "Just happened?"

"..." Sirene watched the trio's retreating figures with slightly wide eyes. She shook out of her daze and started leaving as well. "I'm done."

As she got closer to the exits, she saw a familiar blonde. The sight of him couldn't help but make her scowl; she stopped a few meters from his side, not bother to look at Dan. "You weren't only trying to humiliate those trio, were you."

It was a statement, and it made Dan chuckled. "Why hello to you too Sirene."

"Do you really think I won't report this when he comes back?" Sirene finally turn to glare at him. "You humiliated a member of the _C_ _ouncil._ "

"As sharp as ever," The blonde smirked. "Just think, the high and mighty Vongola send one of its members to deal with small fries who couldn't even control their Flames properly. That's bullying to the highest degree. Too bad you won by forfeit. hehe, it would actually be quite entertaining if you actually lost to two Intermediates and one beginner."

"... I owe you _nothing_ now." She narrowed her eyes into one last icy glare before stalking off. "So consider my ties to you Familigia completely severed."

* * *

Of the people present, no one noticed the watchful eyes of a certain fedora-wearing infant from afar.

"The famed Hyper Intuition finally makes an appearance eh?" He smirked, pulling his hat down as he trotted away, keeping his presence as nonexistent as it has been since he entered the combat facility to observe.

"Won't he be proud if he sees this."

* * *

The trio was silent as they walk, Tsuna guiding them... to the infirmary apparently. Gokudera and Yamamoto didn't dare to talk through the tension that Tsuna was exuding. No one an really blame them, they have never seen Tsuna exhibiting that kind of authoritative side before. It was both awe inspiring and scary to say the very least.

Who knew the petite brunet could pull that off?

"You know," Tsuna finally broke the silence as they entered the empty infirmary that the faculty provided, his voice still somewhat low and... slightly dangerous. "I don't like fighting."

Gokudera and Yamamoto exchanged a look of confusion, both wondering where this was going.

"Especially when it's against friends." Tsuna ushered them to sit down, his head bowed. His hands still on their shoulders as he stood over them, but they could feel and see the brunet shaking. "I don't want to see you guys hurting each other, so don't. Or, god help me, I'll - I'll - just... _please -_ just _don't_."

They blinked, as Tsuna lifted his head, showing warm brown eyes brimming with tears. They side-glance each other, then slowly, resigned themselves to smiling when an unspoken truce passed between them.

"We won't, Tsuna-sama/ Tsuna." The chorus so soothing to his ears that he smiled in return.

"Thank..." The brunet loosen his grip - _groaned -_ and... fell onto the empty spot in between where Gokudera and Yamamoto were forced to sit. "... you."

"Tsuna?!" / "Tsuna-sama!"

.

.

.

And the fight finally caught up to Tsuna.

* * *

 **Okay... so... I didn't know where was the appropriate stop for the chapter and it just keeps getting longer and longer and - yeah... I'm stopping it here.**

 **I was going to hold off publishing this chapter but... it's, well, it's Thanksgiving.**

 **I guess this chapter showcases... how students settle their differences... and uh... how Gokudera and Yamamoto will come to tolerate each other...? I don't know anymore. I stink at character development - and at fight scenes (lack of imagination for those) so... I often just try to kept physical combat at a minimum so it ended up like this... haha... (I promise I'll work harder on them in the future)**

 **... And Gokudera thinks Tsuna is a UMA so he decides to tag along. Well, there's also the fact that Tsuna saved him but really, we should all know that!**

 **The school, since it recruit students world wide, needs to have something to breach the language barrier - because although they might know more than one language, it doesn't cover _all_ the nationalities that may be found in the academy.**

 **One last thing: Happy Thanksgiving everyone~!**


	6. Picking Up Brothers

**I thank** _PAVeY14, Takuz, Mixology of Anime, makubex000, ilovecartoonsgirl, foxchick1_ **for reviewing last chapter!**

 **PAVeY14 -** Thank you! As mentioned, I will work on my weak points in the future. Though it's only their first fight together so... I was kinda - sorta- maybe intending to be a bit... sloppy? (I'm just trying to make myself feel better). I will definitely keep your pointers in mind about the characters! It's really helpful to be able to get a second opinion in how the story is going and what I need to work on. I do plan on focusing on Tsuna's guardians' views later on - sinc it has been centering around Tsuna thus far - so that their stories can get out too so maybe that'll cover some of their quirks...? (Just don't know when honestly.) Heh, I think that was my goal when I was writing. To show that, even if they're forfeiting, Tsuna comes out as a winner.

 **Takuz -** Eh? That wasn't... um... a cliffhanger? I guess it _could_ be from how it was worded lol. Yamamoto is related, yes. That's all I can say. When Tsuna avoided the Dynamites, he went into semi-HDW mode (Just the changing eye colors, no flaming forehead and hands). I don't think I'll be adding a DW mode in this... because _oh my god_ , it's just so _embarrassing_ (to both me and Tsuna)! So I'm going to spare Tsuna the torture. Yeah, I have to agree, Gokudera (And Ryohei in this chapter) may, perhaps, be one of the worsen meets I have written thus far - but I just can't think of anything else honestly so I kept it short and quick. (I sincerely apologize to Gokudera, I'm so sorry!) But well,I hope I can do something better for him later on.

Psh, of course not, the Mist users rotate their posts. (I didn't mention it though since it wasn't... important? :D)

Tsuna is getting closer and closer to activating HDW mode lol, but just not yet. He tapped into it during the fight, as shown by the increase speed and strength. Sorry, it's been a while since I have the manga so... I'm not sure about the differences and it's how I see Tsuna's HDW in this; his moves are instinctive, or, by reflex really. His HI is the one 'guiding' him while his minds cools into a calculative degree. You can say 'someone' is using him - but I would say more of a guide, since that 'someone' would only help when Tsuna's desires are at its peak. (I can't really explain it well right now so yeah. It may or may not change alter on depending _where_ i'm taking this)

No. Dan is just the stereotypical school antagonist. He is not part of the council, but he is in the higher position in the school hierarchy. And he's just referring to the Vongola Council, not the actually Famiglia. The Vongola Council and the actual Vongola are two completely separate entities - but they are _somewhat_ related (Sorry for the confusion)

 **Mixology of Anime -** It makes me smile (and jump for joy if I wasn't sitting) to hear - or read, technically - that someone likes my writing style! Really, thank you! I may or may not try to keep them as long as the last chapter (This one is spanning around 6k as it is) - because I really don't know if I can lol...

 **ilovecartoonsgirl** \- Oh you know, typical school conflict within the school hierarchy :DDDD Don't worry, I plan on showing more in the future since this... well, I consider this the beginning arc - or School Arc if you want an actual name. (Yes, there will come a time that events will be happening in the outside world.)

 **I'm just paranoid that I might have offended someone so I will say it again. I am really sorry if I didn't respond to your review.**

 **I'm not a person to give creative responses other than a simple thank you (That's why I always thank the you guys first) unless you have questions that I can answer or or a comment I can explain or that I'm just really expressive in my gratitude over something (I have people who call me 'plain' and I agree, but I do have my moments.)** **So if my response doesn't reach two lines... I'm not going to bother because I know they will be bland as I go from one person to another and I find it as being inconsiderate towards my reviewers because I can _hear_ myself say that one line in monotone. (People say my speech is monotonic and I find myself agreeing to that too.)**

 **I apologize ahead of time for any grammar mistakes and character OCCness if it were to occur.**

 **AU. GEN Fic. No pairings.**

 **Disclaimer** **: I do not own KHR**

* * *

 **Summary** : Sky, Storm, Lightning, Rain, Sun, Mist, and Cloud, these were known as the seven Knights - or Elements - of the Sky in legends and myths that once appeared out of nowhere and rescued the world from disaster and guide it to an era of change. Or so it was dictated in children's books. Nowadays, there are people who have rainbow colored flames that goes by the same names as the weathers.

* * *

Aside from Yamamoto's apparent flippant attitude towards everything and Gokudera's hotheadedness and obsession with the supernaturals (which Tsuna was forced to believe because... well, Flames and all that good stuff came into his life), the brunet found company in them.

And the fact that they get along makes it even better.

"Che, why do I have to be so close to you anyways?!"

"Maa maa, isn't it nice to hang out once in a while?"

"You're annoying me!"

"Haha!"

... well, kinda.

At least the banters were more or less light-hearted now and Tsuna appreciated the lack of hostility from both of them. Though... the brunet had a hard time understanding _why_ both Gokudera and Yamamoto kept asking if he was alright in the last two days (which he attribute to the duel), and kept casting discrete glances at him when they didn't think he would notice. It wasn't like Tsuna was going to explode anytime soon.

... at least he _hope_ he doesn't.

The two had admitted to the brunet that they rarely start a conversation with each other willingly... that is, until Tsuna came along. The first time that they had to deal with each other was when they were forced to partner up to do a... project (they coughed at the word and it made Tsuna suspect that there was more to it than a mere school assignment). Let's just say, it ended up horribly, with a couple of buildings destroyed (Tsuna didn't want to ask what exactly it was that they were assigned to do to cause _that_ much damage).

However, it would seem that they're on a rather closer terms than with the rest of the student body. Their trust in their classmates were actually _lower_ than the one that silently formed between them as fellow _outcasts_ , per se. Outcasts because of what they wield, their peers never approached them with sincere motives and it left them isolated (in the limelight) in a way.

(The brunet somehow understood the contradicting explanation.)

Tsuna didn't understand how they were able to pick him out of everyone else to put faith in. He didn't do anything special (no matter how much Yamamoto and Gokudera tried to tried to reason otherwise), so -

"GYAAAAHHHH!"

"Huh?"

\- his train of thoughts took a momentary break as he lifted his gaze up into the sky... only to be smacked in the face with a head. Let him rephrase: a head that felt like a small _boulder -_ and if Tsuna had remembered, he was right, because Lightning _hardens._

There was the strange sight of green electricity and then a tingling feeling that numbed all of his nerves so he could only guess that he was being paralyzed by electricity.

Joy.

"Tsuna!"

"Tsuna-sama!"

Said person only groaned as he tried to sit up, but he can't because there was a kid on his face. Literally.

"Oi! Get off of Tsuna-sama right now or I'll blow you up!"

"Maa maa, Lambo didn't mean it."

"To... ler... rate..." The kid, Lambo it would seem, who looked no old than ten, hiccuped. From the sound of it, Tsuna could tell that the little one was on the brink of tears.

The brunet sigh and reached his hands up to remove the child and set him on his lap once he sat up so he could comfort the small ravenet.

He never did like to see kids upset.

"A-are you... are you okay?" Tsuna asked while stroking the boy's head soothingly. He knew it was a stupid questioning considering, well, Lambo literally fell from the _freakin_ ' _sky._ But he was feeling light headed so give him a break.

(And if he hadn't been there, coincidentally, to cushion his fall, then who knows what the kid might beak.)

Lambo nodded mutely, staring at Tsuna owlishly before pointing a shaking finger at the brunet's head. "B-Blo..."

"Hm? Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." Tsuna smiled, though he wondered why there was something wet and sticky trailing down his temple. _Must be sweat, it has been pretty hot today... Oh no, Lambo's crying!_ "W-what's wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Um... T-Tsuna... how are you feeling?" Yamamoto asked cautiously while Gokudera looked as pale as sheets - and on the brink of going hysteric for reasons unknown to the brunet.

"I'm fine, why?"

"W-well... you -"

"How are you _fine_?!" Gokudera interrupted, finally snapping out and finally let panic take hold. "Sword-freak, don't just stand there! We need to -"

"Oi, there you are, you stupid cocky cow!" The incoming voice and pattering footsteps interrupted Gokudera's suggestion. The newcomers made Lambo quiver, Tsuna noticed detachedly. Still a numb and a bit lightheaded, but there was a soft thrumming at the back of his head that let him stay focus just a little longer, as if he _needed_ to stay to see what was going to occur.

"L-Lambo-san is not stupid!" The kid tried to put up a brave front as he stood up against the five or so students.

"Sure," one of them sneered. "Because you totally didn't just blow yourself up."

"And you think you can order us around just because of the quality of your flames?" Another mocked. "I have had enough of the crap coming out of your mouth!"

The others agreed with the guy wearing the same green tie that Lambo wore.

Tsuna blinked, did they just cuss at a _child_?

"Today's the day we should you that you shouldn't mess with your upperclassmen." The same guy jeered again, then locked gazes with Yamamoto and Gokudera. He either didn't notice Tsuna behind Lambo and didn't think the bruent could be much of a threat. 'I would appreciate if none of you are involved."

"Che, no one tells me what to do except -"

Yamamoto stopped Gokudera's temper from skyrocketing again; he also send the group of teens a smile. "And why's that?"

A guy with a red tie scoffed and pointed at a flinching Lambo. "The little sh*t dare to step on us, throwing insults left and right acting like he's all high and mighty."

Tsuna narrowed his eyes, confirming that, yes, they did in fact cuss at a child.

"Lambo-san did no such thing!" The person in question retorted indignantly. It was honestly not Lambo's fault. He had only been minding his own business when this group of teens came trouncing in and started bullying the weaker students. He had only said a few things flippantly - okay, maybe he _did_ sound like he didn't give two-hoots about them, but that wasn't the point! The point was that Lambo was _only_ trying to follow what his conscience was telling him to do for once...and what does he gets in return for doing something morally _right?_

Bullies.

(Oh the irony of life.)

"You should be grateful that Lambo-san even spare you any attention at all!"

"Why you -"

"Attention?" The one with the green tie smirked as he stood in front. His hands in his pocket as he lifted his foot, tendrils of Lightning Flames started to crackling just up to his ankle. "Well, then let's see how you spare 'attention' on an Advanced."

Green eyes widened in shock and fear. He wanted to defend but his control of his flames had never worked the way he wanted to, so he could only close his eyes and brace for the -

" **Stop.** "

\- Green eyes, briefly glowing with an unnatural hue, opened in alarm at the sheer _authority_ carried in the familiar yet-not voice... only to find the kind boy who had saved him from his fall in front of him. Lambo only took a second to blink, and then stared in awe of the brunet who was currently blocking the hit for him with his own leg - yet the brunet _hadn't budge from his spot_.

It was as though the kick didn't have any affect at all.

"Who..." The assailant had been surprised when someone appeared out of nowhere and took the Flame-enhanced kick to the guts. He was shocked, though, when he saw that it was someone who was wearing a _gray tie_ that stopped him. He would have barked at the brunet for getting in his way, but molten, sunset-orange eyes narrowed in barely controlled anger pinned him down. The fact that there was blood trailing down Tsuna's head made him all the more scarier, because he looked so _apathetic like a cold-blooded murderer and -_

"I apologize on Lambo's behalf." Tsuna calmly lowered his leg, which, in turn, lowered the other's leg in the process.

If one has sharp enough eyes, they would notice that the brunet currently favored his left leg over his right; but of course, the brunet could careless as long as he gets stable footing for now. The heat within him had been kept just under the boiling point, but it spiked instantly as if going berserk when he saw the teen about to hit a harmless _child_. It had shimmered down seconds after, when he acted on his instinct, but his anger has not subsided. "Though it makes me wonder about the standard of this school to allow assaults towards a _defenseless child_."

"You -"

"I don't think it wise to fight outside of the arena," Tsuna commented coolly, none too repentant for rudely interrupting the other like he would normally have, his eyes darting from the teen in front of him to the side.

"... Isn't that right, Hibari-san?"

Everyone just frozen at the mention of the name, and as if on cue, said Prefect came out from the shadows of the trees that lined the sides in all his bloodthirsty glory.

"Hn."

They gaped. They may not understand his way of speech but did Hibari Kyouya just -

"I will bite you all to death for disturbing the peace."

\- he did! _The_ Hibari Kyouya just let Tsuna slide for practically telling him to come out and agree with his words!

While Hibari started to bite the opposing group to death, Tsuna abruptly stepped out of his trance-induced state. He grimaced and fell as pain wash over his body from the concussion, the mild electrocution, and from the jarring kick he had received earlier. He could never catch a break from injuries, could he?

The last thing he remembered were the sounds of beating and the worried calls of his friends.

A detached part of him wondered if Lambo was still crying.

* * *

Ryohei had been jogging around on one of his 'extreme' routes when he saw it.

The kid was about to get crushed, and he would have jumped in if the small brunet hadn't just suddenly appeared _right there._

... and he retracted his first impression of said brunet being feeble and timid. Because as the boy countered with his own leg with no help from any type of Flames that he could sense, Ryohei's eyes _shined_.

A thick, invisible aura that wrapped around the brunet like a blanket and so concentrated with resolve and power and -

 _He's EXTREMELY going to be in my boxing club!_

\- Ryohei decided to jump on the happy bunch bandwagon.

* * *

Tsuna's head hurts...

"SAWADA WAS EXTREME!"

"SHUT UP LAWN HEAD OR YOU'RE GOING TO WAKE HIM UP!"

... and he just wanted his damn sleep without so much of the ruckus!

"WHAT DID YOU EXTREMELY SAY?!"

"I SAID _SHUT UP_!"

But judging from the sound of things, he wasn't going back to his precious dreamland anything soon. Shame, really, because he didn't want to deal with the soreness that his body was in and the prickling sensation in the back of his head that if he doesn't wake up now, then he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon because of something that involved grenades and dynamites and - just _why_ did those things come in mind first?

"GAH! BOTH OF YOU ARE SO LOUD!"

"WHO SAID YOU COULD TALK STUPID COW?! IT WAS YOUR FAULT TO BEGIN WITH!"

"Maa maa, calm down."

\- Tsuna groaned and the room fell upon silence. (He would like to celebrate it by going back to sleep, but unfortunately... he had reached his sleep quota. Apparently.)

The brunet blearily opened his eyes, blinking away the white spots in his vision before he could register he was in a white room. "Wha..."

"Tsuna-sama, you're awake!"

"... awake?" Tsuna furrowed his brows, mind still a bit fuddled. He pushed himself up with his elbows while ignoring how the world seemed to tilt. "Was I asleep?"

"Yeah," Yamamoto confirmed as Gokudera help the brunet sit up before he could fall back down. "You fainted twenty minutes ago from a concussion so we have to take you to the infirmary" - Yamamoto grimaced - "... again."

Tsuna frowned, silently trying to remember _how_ he had gotten from point A to point B, but all he could recollect was getting angry at... at something? The memory was too blurry for his liking, but he knew that he doesn't get angry without a good reason - he rarely gets angry at all, actually.

The following silence from the brunet and his confusion seemed to send a message to the occupants of the room.

"... you don't remember?" Gokudera asked in concern.

Tsuna, instead of answering, tried to massage his head to help his memory, but what came up was too vague for him to understand. He was about to shake his head in response when he caught sight of a familiar raven haired child hiding behind Yamamoto. "Ah... you're... uh..."

"Oh, this is Bovino Lambo," Yamamoto took the job of doing the introductions. "He's from the elementary school division."

"H-Hi..." The kid greeted uncertainly. He wanted to go up to the brunet, but he was... strangely timid. He had never been the meek type, but in front of Tsuna, Lambo did not want to give the brunet a bad impression. After all, Tsuna stood up for him like how he imagined a big brother would... and there was something - _warmacceptingfamily_ \- about the brunet that made Lambo not want Tsuna to think badly of him.

"You're not hurt, are you?" Tsuna asked in worry, finally remembered a few snippets after contemplating for a few more seconds. "I remember seeing someone about to hit you."

"No, you -"

"You EXTREMELY took that kick to the EXTREME!" Said the occupant that Tsuna faintly remember having the pleasure of bumping into on his first day of class... though he never got his name.

"Ah, Ryohei-senpai, this is Sawada Tsunayoshi. Tsuna, this is Sasagawa Ryohei," Yamamoto did the intros once more since he noticed the confusion written on the brunet's face towards the white haired male. "He's the captain -"

"SAWADA SHOULD EXTREMELY JOIN MY BOXING CLUB!"

"- of the Boxing club, haha!"

"... w-what?" Tsuna blinked despite his ears ringing at the loud volume. He learned before that despite Flames and all, the academy has normal extracurricular activities as well, and it was known far and wide that UT participates in international competitions. They do have to keep up the pretense of a prestigious school after all, since not everyone knows the truth about Flames or else, world powers would try to exploit it and _that_ would result in something worst than nuclear weaponry.

If a World War III was to ever occur, then, as Eisenstein said, "World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

... If humanity survives, that is.

"JOIN MY EXTREME BOXING CLUB!"

Tsuna looked at the boxer warily, wondering why he asked _him_ of all people to join boxing. Heck, he can't ever fight if his life depends on it! Why else would he let bullies toss him around without any retaliation?

"... why?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE AN EXTREME PERSON TO TAKE ON AN EXTREME BLOW LIKE THAT!"

"Huh?" Tsuna answered intelligently. "What blow?"

"You mean you _really_ don't remember?" Gokudera asked again. "You intercepted a kick with Lightning's harden effect with your right leg."

.

.

.

"WHAT?!" Tsuna did a double take. He did _what?!_

"When we brought you to the infirmary, the doc said that you broke your right tibia..."

"HIIEE?!" He broke his leg?!

"EXTREME!" What does that even _mean?!_

"SHUT UP LAWN HEAD!"

"FIGHT ME THEN OCTOPUS HEAD!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING -"

Tactfully turning a deaf ear to the now squabbling bomber and boxer, Tsuna decided to check on his leg... which oddly didn't have a cast over it as if he hadn't been using it to block a _titanium pole as thick as a human leg_. If he had sustained that kind of injury, then how come he didn't feel any pain when he woke up? There was the soreness sure, but...

"Haha, you don't have to worry!" Yamamoto assured. "You were treated with Sun Flames while you were unconscious."

"Oh," Tsuna relaxed. Well, that explained the quick recovery. "Right. I forgot."

He noticed Lambo climbing onto the bedside. "Lambo, is there something you need?"

"L-Lambo-san want to know why you did that." The Lightning Flame user plopped down in front of Tsuna tentatively.

"Um... did what?"

Lambo pouted almost indignantly. "You saved me from those big kids."

"I-I did?" Tsuna scratched the back of back of his head, his mind filled with doubts. He knew his capabilities... or lack thereof, so it was impossible for him to do what Gokudera and Lambo had claimed. But if he _could_ , then - then maybe - just _maybe_ \- "I... I don't like seeing people get hurt."

"If - If I _can_ do something about it, then I will. Especially if it's for my friends and family. I would -" There was the switch to orange again, but this time, it carried a resolute flame within. " _Protect them with **my dying will**._ "

A blink and chocolate brown was all that was present - along with a sheepish grin. "Eh, Well, that is, um... _if_ I'm able to. It's just wishful thinking, since I _am_ Dame-Tsuna after all."

Tsuna didn't realized that Gokudera and Sasagawa had stopped arguing the moment they heard Lambo asked for the reason for the brunet's actions. They had seen the change in his eyes and the resolve that had somehow found its way into his words.

To say they were all in awe was not far from the truth.

"... No!" Lambo came out of his daze and refuted, clinging onto Tsuna's arm, much to the older boy's surprised. "Tsuna-nii is not Dame! Tsuna-nii is Tsuna-nii!"

"Huh - w-wait, what?" Said person sputtered, half alarmed and half embarrassed if the reddening cheeks were anything to go by. Since when was he...? "Since when am I -"

"THAT WAS EXTREME SAWADA!" Sasagawa decided to intervene and swing am arm around Tsuna's shoulder. "I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU MY LITTLE BROTHER FROM NOW ON!"

"Huh?!"

Gokudera swelled with pride to see how the person he respected gained more followers but - "OI, STOP BEING SO FAMILIAR WITH TSUNA- SAMA!" - they shouldn't be so causal with Tsuna.

Yamamoto laughed as the bomber went to pry both Lambo and Sasagawa away, only to get into a mini scuffle that pulled the poor Tsuna in. The more the brunet opened up to them, the more the swordsman was assured that he finally found the rightful Sky to follow. Because even though Tsuna haven't noticed what Element he has, everyone in this room could attest that there were traces of Sky flames burning brightly within his eyes.

It was only a matter of time before it comes out and take their Elements under its wings.

"Looks like you found your resolve Tsuna!"

Of course, the brunet didn't hear a word since he was trying to prevent the infirmary from becoming a war zone.

... It was, sadly, not working though.

* * *

A Hercules beetle flew away from its perch, zigzagged though the forest, and continued to fly until the a tower came into view in the distance. It was seven stories high and about half a mile in diameter.

The beetle flew up to the highest floor, where a window lay open for it to enter. It landed on the hand of a certain infant and beat its wings a few more times before settling.

"- slap your face so many times that it'll be unrecognizable!"

"Aw c'mon Lal! I was only kidd -" _thud_ "- GAH! Guys! Help! Lal's in Rage Mode again!"

"Why should I help when it's your fault?"

 _Bang!_

"Help!"

"You'll have to pay me first."

 _Clatter!_

"Fon, save me!"

A sigh. "Now now Lal, why don't we stop this and do some medi -"

"I'll _meditate_ once I'm through with the idiot for not being serious in the meeting!"

"Oh dear."

"That's all you can say?!"

 _Crash!_

"Hey hey! That was my -"

"SHUT UP LACKEY!" came Lal's and Colonello's voice in unison.

"H-hai..."

"LUUUUCCCEEEE! YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE! LAL'S SLAPS HURTS MORE THAN _BULLETS_!"

"Haha... you two should really just get a room."

A pause, and you could practically _hear_ the steam coming form a certain blunette's reddening face and the ear-splitting grin on a certain blonde.

"W-what are you saying?!"

"Oh?" A smirk settled on the face of the infant, though his expression remained a mystery under the fedora. His sudden voice caught the attention of seven others while the beetle flew away after relying its message.

"Did you hear something interesting, Reborn?" The infant sitting at the head seat and next to said infant asked with a pleasant smile.

"You already know, don't you Luce?" Reborn responded, one hand rubbing over the yellow pacifier around his neck.

"I do wonder though," Luce hummed, ocean blue eyes closing with a wistful smile.

"It has been a long time, hasn't it?" She shook her head and redirected the topic back to the meeting. "Oh well, we aren't getting anywhere right now, so meeting adjourned."

"Luce, we never get _anywhere_ with our meetings with these hooli -" The holder of a green pacifier dodged a bullet fired his way while pushing up his spectacles. " - Reborn, stop being so trigger-happy."

"Sorry, my finger slipped~"

"Haha! Even Reborn can make a mis -"

 _Whizz._

A bullet flew past a helmet wearing toddler, scratching the side of the gear as it does so.

"I dare you to finish that, lackey."

Luce sighed as her companions' antics resumed its usual threats... and maiming. She looked down on the white sheet of paper with nothing written under it since the start of the meeting two hours ago. She flipped the page and saw a report.

"Oh? The Vongola Council are coming back from their job in a bit over a week. And Mare is... oh dear." She hummed thoughtfully, skillfully ignoring the weapons that has been drawn in the background. As long as her fellow peers didn't use Flames, she wouldn't interfere. "I can see that it's going to get lively again."

She then straightened up and smiled at everyone. "So, have we all decide on the order?"

* * *

.

.

.

"So... um..." Tsuna stared at the piece of paper given to him when he, Yamamoto, and Gokudera received earlier in the morning. "Where is this?"

After that horrid ending with the duel where they forfeited (Tsuna's memory was a bit too hazy for his liking), Tsuna thought that was the end of that. Just another episode that will fly over your head, right?

No, apparently not.

On top of being the gossip of the _entire_ school that the Pure Elements forfeited because of some 'scrawny, good-for-nothing Gray Tie' (Great, now Tsuna felt _guilty_ for putting his two friends on the spot), the trio has to face the consequences of a forfeit. (Because, as another quote by another headmaster, "Quitters can't be whiners" - whatever _that_ means. Tsuna would like to question why it shouldn't be "Quitters can't be winners", but, again, he wasn't going to risk it since something told him that it was dangerous to question what was said.)

So... for the next _two months_ , their general classwork doubled and they were to attend a special after school's detention class...? Tsuna wasn't sure why he had a dreadful feeling about it, but at least it was better than being thrown into a random spot in the Pacific Ocean... right?

Right. (Tsuna chose to look on the optimistic side and ignored that alien humming happily in the back of his head that told him to prepare to run for his life for the next two months.)

And here they were, after the fiasco during lunch - his friends insisted that he rest a bit more, but Lal would kill _him_ if he was even a second late (that look that she always has as if she was ready to _murder_ someone with an axe was frightening enough), so no - and coming from their afternoon classes, trying to find the place that the supposed-detention was being held.

According to the paper, they would have a different supervisor (they were unnamed) each week for eight weeks, or two months, and every week would be at a different location around campus.

It was bizarre, Tsuna thought. This was definitely nothing like the detentions he gets his old school. Granted, it was a _normal_ school compared to Ultima Thule.

"Eh..." Yamamoto leaned over to read the location. "Oh, that's somewhere between the forest area and Vongola territory."

The brunet furrowed his brows, remembering something that he was told. "Um... _why_ are Beginners and Intermediates not allowed in the forest?"

"I think it's... too dangerous?" Yamamoto explained uncertainly since even he wasn't sure. "I never been there before so yeah."

"I heard there are... strange creatures living there," Gokudera's eyes lit up. "There might even be UMAs living there!"

Tsuna sweatdropped and it was pushed into the back of hs mind since they have arrived at their destination.

.

.

.

It was an empty field.

Tsuna felt sweat trailing down his face because despite how _harmless_ the place looked, there was that ominous, scary aura that loomed over it like a think blanket. It send Tsuna's hair standing on end, and he wanted very much to hightail it out of there right there and then because Tsuna, being the sensitive being he was, could feel the impending torture and pain and -

"You're late, kora!"

\- and the sight of a baby flying down _by a falcon_ did nothing but add more to Tsuna's already overfiling pool of dread.

"Colonello-sensei!" Yamamoto laughed. "What are you doing here?"

The blonde infant grinned, still in midair. "I'm your supervisor for this week, kora!"

Gokudera frowned. "A headmaster is being assigned as our supervisor? Isn't that a bit much?"

"Hehe, that's just how things has been decided." Colonello answered and turned to look at his Rain student, frowning. "I'm very disappointed in you Takeshi. Forfeiting just like that."

Yamamoto laughed it off and scratched the back of his head. "Maa, Tsuna didn't like it so we stopped."

"And whatever Tsuna-sama says, we would listen," Gokudera added, being uncharacteristically agreeable. Then again, they were talking about _Tsuna_.

The teen in question grimaced, because as much as his friends didn't blame him, Tsuna knew it was his fault for dragging them into this mess.

"Tsunayoshi Sawada eh."

The brunet blinked -

"HIIIIEEE!"

\- and backpedaled because the infant was right _there_. How did he even get in front of Tsuna's face without him noticing?

Colonello whistled impressively and signaled the falcon to drop him. "A nice and loud screech, it could be a weapon if you use it properly, kora!"

 _What._ Tsuna gaped. _Why_ would he do that? That... that would just be _mean_ and the last thing Tsuna wanted was to hurt someone because of his _voice_. (He would just refuse to talk if it was to come to that.) "N-No... no thanks. I'm good with just using it to uh... scream - talk - y'know."

Colonello chuckled. "Anyways, for this week, your punishment will be administered by me, kora!"

"... What punishment?" Tsuna asked tentatively, his stomach already twisting in a knot.

"That." The infant pointed at the field. "I set it up the day before, kora."

"You set up an empty field." Gokudera deadpanned, obviously not impressed. 'Why would you - Tsuna-sama?"

Tsuna was somewhere behind boulder a good few meters away. They may question his actions but Tsuna was justified. That humming in his head - and it's been happening more often as of late - happily told him that the place was dangerous and he shouldn't be anywhere near it, much less taking a step _on_ it.

 _NopenopenopeNOPE_ was his inner mantra as he shook over.

Colonello blinked once, then laughed, doubling over. "The kid's got good sense of intuition, kora!"

"Eh?" Yamamoto blinked, being just as confused as Gokudera. Tsuna wanted to scream at them to just _don't stand there_ and that they should be _as far away from that place as possible!_

"What's wrong, Tsuna?"

"... Everything!" was the response.

"Well, I can't just have you hide through the whole thing, can I, kora?" Tsuna froze when the voice was _right behind him_. He looked from the empty spot next to Yamamoto to behind himself - albeit robotically - and was promptly kicked in the face.

And it _hurts_.

"Off you go, kora!"

"HIIIIIEEEEE!"

The moment Tsuna landed on unforgiving - because it really was unforgiving - cold ground, it collapsed into itself and all hell broke loose. Tsuna screamed again when it was a pit of... snakes and because his adrenaline was reaching towards its max, her was about to quickly climb out.

He didn't even get a second of breathing time when -

 _BOOM!_

\- he stepped onto a landmine.

"HIIIIEEEEE!" Tsuna could feel his throat turning soaring after this whole deathtrap. He was, maybe, probably, rethinking that it would be better if they'd just swim. He could deal with drowning - because he couldn't swim for the life of him - but not this. (If Tsuna knew of what _could_ happen in the ocean besides the water and the man-eating sharks, then he would think twice on his regretting thought.)

"TSUNA-SAMA!" Gokudera - in spite of himself being a genius - ran in. Blind.

 _Click._

.

.

.

The button he had unknowing stepped on send arrows raining down from the sky and spikes ascending from the ground and - _ **what the f***ing hell is a** boulder **doing there?!**_ "Get out of my f***ing way!"

Dynamites were added into the mix.

Yamamoto laughed nervously at all the unforeseen _things_ appearing and it really should defy the laws of physics - but then again, he was never really good at physics so... maybe it doesn't apply here? That logic sounded right, he went with it.

"What... do we have to do exactly?" Yamamoto asked. He may be a person who follow the flow of things, but seeing this... he couldn't help but turn a bit somber.

"Nothing really." Colonello grinned. Widely. "This is my way of welcoming you guys to the first day so... just survive."

"Ah!" Yamamoto nodded, and in spite of the answer, he returned the grin. "Like a welcome party! Okay!"

Yamamoto Takeshi entered the war zone and was immediately faced with quicksand.

As Tsuna ran away from homing missiles (seriously where did those even _come_ from?!), he had to wonder why he was still alive and that this was his life now. Apparently.

Colonello just watched, the smile forever on his face as if he didn't just send some students to their deaths. The only thing on his mind was -

"Huh, I should've brought something to drink."

* * *

 **Okay, so shorter than last chapter... haha...**

 **So, Tsuna met Lambo... and roped in Ryohei without trying - so he picked up two brothers this chapter, one younger and the other older. He's showing that he's caring to the point of not noticing his own injuries (Lightheadedness can do that to you so yeah...) in favor of worrying for others.**

 **Annnnd... We're almost there. Just two more people to meet and greet, then we can move onto... something else? I'm still working on it haha...**

 **Sorry, I'm not too sure on how I'm developing Lambo just yet. Let's just say... he's torn between being childish and acting more mature. I'm sorry for his current personality instability. And yes, he's ten - I can't picture a five year old - mentally and physically - going to _that_ kind of school and surviving it. With little to no supervision if I might add. (I called bull when a _spoiled_ Lambo was send to assassinate _Reborn_. How did he even get pass airport security by himself anyways? How did he find himself in _Namimori_ is a another one, because I'm pretty sure the _small town_ doesn't have an airport. But anime is anime, I just learn to accept it all - doesn't stop me from demanding reasons good or bad behind it though because I need at least _something_ to blame on dang it!)**

 **And Yamamoto logic. Go figure.**

 **Club thing. I have a reason for Yamamoto not being in the baseball club... yet. That's all I'm saying.**

 **So, you and I both know who Tsuna and friends will meet in their detention. I honestly have no specific order for them so... I can leave it up to you or myself if no one cares. If you want to chose, then you would have to comment before the next update though (Gee, it sounds like I'm trying to force people to review - I'm not though, honest!)** **They'll show up every chapter or two... or three. Really, it just depends on how much I speed through time. I'm pretty sure it's been more than two weeks since Tsuna started school.**

 **And as much as they enjoy seeing Tsuna and friends being torture, I would like to think there's a motive behind it all.**


	7. Will of the Sky

**I thank** _v_ _ampireharry the 2, ilovecartoonsgirl, Takuz, BlackSky83, makubex000, PAVeY14, foxchick1_ **for reviewing last chapter!**

 **Takuz** _\- Lambo does though... in my view, he didn't change_ that _much. Eh... yeah, bold is when Tsuna was being assertive. Tsuna haven't consciously enter into HDW mode so he doesn't remember anything. (This chapter explains a bit of that actually lol so I hope it'll help) He is slowly showing signs of finding and acknowledging his resolve and something is keeping his flames asleep until Tsuna finds his resolve. Luce is an Arcobaleno and no, she does not have the short-life span curse. (Their curse is slightly different.)_

 _... Not exactly creating per se, since they already exist. Just gathering._

 **makubex000** _\- Nope, it isn't the 1st gen. (The 1st gen. have another role in this story so yeah)_

 **I apologize ahead of time for any grammar mistakes and character OCCness if it were to occur.**

 **AU. GEN Fic. No pairings.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

* * *

 **Summary** : Sky, Storm, Lightning, Rain, Sun, Mist, and Cloud, these were known as the seven Knights - or Elements - of the Sky in legends and myths that once appeared out of nowhere and rescued the world from disaster and guide it to an era of change. Or so it was dictated in children's books. Nowadays, there are people who have rainbow colored flames that goes by the same names as the weathers.

* * *

Lambo now follows Tsuna like a little duckling to a mother goose and Ryohei screams at the top of his lungs _every single time_ he sees the brunet, both of which meant every chance that they _get._ And let's not forget about Yamamoto and Gokudera's one-sided arguments with the latter being a ticking bomb that could go off any _second_ , especially now with the new additions.

"SAWADA!"

"Hiiieee!"

"DON'T YOU DARE SHOUT AT TSUNA-SAMA!"

"Maa maa, Senpai is just excited, is all!"

Tsuna was just so _done_ with everything.

He felt a tug at the edge of his shirt and look down to find somewhat dejected Lambo. He blinked, then crouch down to meet the boy's green eyed gaze, tactically ignoring what might possibly - no, _most likely_ \- escalate from bad straight to things that involve typical big explosions and booms. ( _They're not trying to kill each other,_ Tsuna very much wanted to reason, _it's just how they get along._

It's not working.)

"Is there something wrong Lambo?"

It had only been a day, but Tsuna felt like he had know the boy - and the other people in the background that Tsuna refuse to acknowledge the existence of at the moment - for years, maybe even his entire _life_. (He didn't understand it yet, but it has something to do with the Sky's Harmony once it has found its rightful Elements.)

"Can I come with you today?" Lambo asked hopefully. "To class?"

"... we're not even in the same school division, Lambo." Tsuna started no idea where this was going to go, but he had a bad feeling...

"I don't care! Lambo-san wants to follow Tsuna-nii!" The child half pouted and half glaring, causing causing the attention in the background to not only be in the background anymore.

"Don't even think aobut it stupid cow!" Gokudera growled. "you'll just cause more trouble!"

"Not as much as you Bakadera!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"

"Maa -"

"EXTREME!"

"Haha, what is that supposed to mean anyways Senpai?"

Tsuna just knew this was going to end badly.

.

.

.

He was right.

"... Tsunayoshi." The Science Teacher, Kori Tati, and the rest of the class were a bit nonplussed. Because as Tsuna face-desked (and groaned) at his assigned lab table, there was currently a soon-to-be chaos commencing that the brunet did not want to have a part of.

Heck, he doesn't even know _why_ Ryohei (he couldn't do anything about Lambo either) was here in his science class currently holding a flask of yellow and another of violet - Tsuna checked the instructions and saw the big bold 'X' over the chemicals that were categorized by colors (and obviously, colorful liquids attract attention) because it would result in - "O-Onii-san w-wait -"

"Ne ne, let's put this green one in too!"

"Haha, good idea Lambo! Oh, and the blue one as well!"

"LET'S MAKE AN EXTREME RAINBOW!"

"WHAT ARE YOU IDIOTS DOING?! THAT'S GOING TO -"

"DUUUUUCK!" Someone, who knew what was going to happen, warned and dived for a table far away from Tsuna's group.

 _KABOOM!_

A barrier of lightning was placed just in time to shield most of the class, minus Tsuna's group because they were too close to the wrongly mixed chemicals. Kori, after putting the barrier down, deadpanned at the damage caused - which happened to be a good chunk of the classroom since the building was flame-proofed, not chemical-proofed - then at the culprits.

"Tsunayoshi, you and your friends are to report to the main office right this instant."

The brunet blinked and coughed out black smoke. He wasn't even panicking anymore that he was in yet another trouble, because he felt a trace of lightning aura coating his body that prevented serious injuries. His eyes searched the rest of his ground, sensing similar coat of invisible aura all leading back to the child that he was covering. (Tsuna knew something like this would happen so he had reacted just in time.)

"L-Lambo?" Tsuna asked tentative of the shivering lightning user in his arms, the aura that he sensed retracting quickly into the smaller boy's body after doing its job.

"I-I'm sorry..." Lambo whimpered, guilt swimming in his pair of watery eyes (he might have imagined it but Tsuna swore he had just saw a faint glow of green).

Tsuna sighed and gave the child a reassuring pat. After all, there was no reason to get mad at someone who had unknowingly save all of their lives.

"Herbivores..."

 _Oh no._

Of course, with the explosion that they cause, it's bound to attract the attention of one Hibari Kyouya.

Tsuna wondered if he will ever go on one day without causing trouble.

.

.

.

Colonello raised a brow at the two new students joining detention that day and his eyes somehow landed on a sheepishly smiling Tsuna as if everything started with him. "You know, I shouldn't be surprised, kora."

The brunet groaned.

* * *

So, remember that talk Tsuna and Yamamoto had about a certain list? Because Tsuna confirmed that yes, Hibari Kyouya has a hit-list (more of a Must-Bite-To-Death list) and unfortunately yes, he was somehow one of the people on that obscure list.

How does he know?

Well, you see, there's the occasional tonfa that comes out of nowhere - _aimed at his freakin' skull -_ whenever he navigates through the campus. Then the aforementioned Prefect would _jumped_ out of nowhere and demanded a _fight_ from him - Tsuna saw no reason why Hibari bothered do that when the latter just attack _right afterwards_ and -

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

\- Of course, Tsuna freaked out and blurted out something that was definitely an _insult_ to the demon-in-disguise's face (him and his big, lack of self-preservation, mouth), which pushed him up to the _top ten_ on that bloody list. If this continues, and if the saying 'once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern' is true in regards to how Tsuna makes friends... then he would befriend one Hibari Kyouya anytime now!

All in all, Tsuna's life is just getting _better and better!_ (Note the sarcasm.)

There was a plus side to it all - or that was what Tsuna would like to think. It would seem that the news of Tsuna being hunted down by a bloodthirsty skylark had spread _campus-wide_ , and his classmates gave more looks of pity than disdain towards him while also staying as far, _far_ away from Tsuna as possible in case they somehow manage to cross the Skylark because they were 'crowding'.

"Herbivore."

"HIIEEEE!"

"Haha, have fun playing tag!"

"EXTREME TAG!"

"Lambo-san wants to play too!"

"What the hell are you saying idiots?! We need to save Tsuna-sama!"

It was during one of those chases where his friends just watch from the sidelines (those traitors) that Tsuna met another potential friend. And how does he know that they were going to be _great_ friends?

He got a broken potted plant on his head to show for it. (Injuries seemed to prefer his head for some odd reason.)

"Owowow!"

"I-I'm s-sorry...!" The girl he bumped into apologized meekly as she picked up the shattered pieces of the pot she was holding.

"N-no, it-it was my fault," Tsuna reasoned despite the headache. At least it was less painful than the other ones he had experienced so far - or maybe he was developing an immunity.. he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

He reach up into his hair to cup the handful of dirt (he was _so_ going to have fun washing his hair later) off and found two flowers, one withering one not. "E-excuse me -"

When he looked to the girl with the haircut that strangely resemble a tropical fruit and wearing an eye patch, she was on the verge of collapsing. He put the flower down immediately before supporting the girl up so she wouldn't hit the floor.

She appeared rather pale in Tsuna's opinion, so perhaps she has a fever. He panicked at the thought and picked her up bridle-style. He made a beeline for the infirmary ward of the General Education building, hoping that Hibari haven't found his trail while he was at it because only God knows what the Skylark would do if he finds an _unconscious_ girl in his arms. (Hibari would _obviously_ link the culprit back to _Tsuna_ and that would give him all the more reason to hunt him to the ends of the Earth - which is to say, forever, because, as you can see, the planet is _round_.)

"Doc - oh, Doctor Kurt!" He saw the blue haired male that was at Vongola Castle before. "What are you doing here - never mind, I have an emergency!"

"... I can see that." The man deadpanned and gestured to the empty bed nearest to the work desk, silently instructing Tsuna to put the girl there. "What happened?"

"Erm... I - I bumped into her while I was running away from Hibari-san" - Kurt raised a brow at this - "It's complicated - uh, no, not really, but back to the point! I don't know if it was my fault but she collapsed afterwards... please tell me it isn't - oh no... w-what if she gets a concussion or - or -"

"Calm down," Kurt slapped Tsuna on the back, giving the latter a jolt. He took one glance at the new patient, and could already diagnose the problem. "Oh... this is not good."

"Wh-what?!" The brunet did not understand how the doctor could speak of the situation with such a flat tone if it was as bad as he said "What do you mean this is 'not good'?! Oh my god, is she going to _die?!_ I'm too young to go to jail!"

Kurt blinked, wondering how Tsuna had already jumped to such an extreme conclusion but then again, the boy seemed to be the melodramatic type. "You didn't commit murder, Tsunayoshi."

"E-eh? I-I didn't?"

"No," The Russian doctor opened the drawer and shifted a few documents until he found what he needed. It was a good thing that every infirmary on campus was required to keep a copy of each and every student's medical record. "Chrome Dokuro, a regular patient that suffers from Flame Deficiency Syndrome, or FDS for short."

Tsuna just stared.

Kurt sighed. "It's an inborn chronic sickness that occurs when the owner's Element doesn't supply enough active life flames to keep his or her body constitution from shutting down. If not treated probably, then the person would die within _days_. The chances of one being born with such condition is one in a million."

"... Actually, scratch that. It's one in a _billion_ chance because she possess pure Mist flames." He corrected after skimming further down the document he retrieved while he stride hurriedly towards the cabinets. The sight of medicinal herbs and liquids that Tsuna had never seen before in his life greeted him - as in literally not in _any_ pictures he has seen in the medicine books (Tsuna somehow had it in his head that he wanted to be a doctor one day... the hype only lasted _one_ day, don't ask) - and Tsuna idly wondered why some of them looked like those you could find in in a fantasy book. (Those things that look like a bud from a bell flower with something swirling inside inside or that flaming newt can't be real... right? Right?!)

"Pure flames, in general, are already difficult to control but Mist Flames... they're placed third in terms of difficulty level."

The more Tsuna knew, the more he paled. "C-can you -"

"No sirree," Kurt cut in, already predicting what was going to be said. He pushed aside a few bottles and flasks from the shelves, letting them clink against each other in some sort of discordant harmony. "Dokuro Chrome is placed under Shamal's care - he's the head doctor of the school - and besides, I'm a Sun Flame user."

"Then - then what are we going to do?!"

"I can only stall for time." Kurt answered, returning to the work desk with various medicinal ingredients in his arms and getting to work. "According to the medical record, her twin should be informed of her condition by now through their... twin thing... and probably on his way here. He should be able to perform a flame transfer to stabilize her condition since their flames are the closest to each other. Now watch over her condition while I work, she's only in the early stages but I will need to know when she gets worse - watch for coughing fits."

Tsuna gulped nervously but opted to stay by Chrome's side to observe.

Watching the girl struggling to breath made Tsuna's stomach twist into a knot. He didn't like seeing people like this as much as he didn't like fighting. He might not have known the person for very long but Tsuna wished he could help in some way other than just watching by the sideline. He hated being useless at times when someone needed help and he couldn't do _anything -helplesshelplesshelpless -_ if only he had the ability to help someone in need.

 _If only_ , he thought spitefully. It's always 'if only'. Why can't he _just_ _make it happen?_

A wave of heat responded to his wish. Something thrummed in his head, whispering and guiding his own arm as if it wasn't his own yet it is.

.

.

.

By the time Kurt lifted his head a few minutes later after putting the concocted liquid into a syringe, the doctor had detected a strong fluctuation of elemental energy (it wasn't in a flame-state but an invisible aura... that should only be possible if the student has sufficient control over their flames to not make a physical appearance but the manifestation of a elemental Will) that could only belong to that of a Sky's Will (or something similar to it).

Kurt watched in something akin to a mix of awe and fascination as Tsuna, half-lidded eyes hazed as if trying to see past the physical plane, hovered a hand over Chrome's forehead. The Will of the Sky curling with the tendrils of Mists in perfect sync, guiding Harmony to where it was needed.

"Well, I'll be." The doctor breathed when he noticed some of Chrome's color returning to her. He took her wrist to check the pulse.

... It was stabilizing.

"Slow, but it's actually stabilizing..." Kurt mumbled as he cast his gaze over towards Tsuna. He would have never imagined the plain-looking brunet (no offense) to be a Sky, _a Sky that can already somewhat channel into his Element's Will and control his Element's characteristic._ (Subconsciously, but that wasn't the point!) Kurt was rarely able see a Sky in action up close because of their scarcity so most of its abilities were still enshrouded in a mystery.

He does know that the Harmonization effect of the Sky pulls the other six elements under its all-encompassing domain, brings about control and an equilibrium that can't be found without it. And that was what Tsuna's Element was doing, encompassing Chrome's Mist into its domain so as to stabilize the Mist's unbalanced fluctuation so as to start producing the necessary flames for operation.

The moment didn't last long though when the room dropped a few degrees with the appearance of another Mist and a killing intent.

" **What... the _f***._ Are. You. Doing?** "

"Wha -" Before Kurt could even stop it, a trident has already been thrust towards the trance-induced brunet. Fortunately, even within that state, Tsuna managed to foresee the sudden assault and move left - not fast enough but it was better to have a grazed cheek than a punctured skull.

"W-what's - hiiiieee!" Tsuna lost his balance when he saw the sharp end of the trident make a horizontal slash. He barely managed to avoid another lethal strike as he fell to the floor.

"Hold it!" Kurt had to take hold the newcomer's weapon before things escalates. He realized that he needed to enhanced his grip with Sun Flames when he found, quite surprisingly, the amount strength that the teen possesses. "Tsunayoshi was trying to stabilize the patient!"

The teen with a similar tropical fruit haircut to Chrome narrowed his eyes in doubt. He paced towards the girl and let indigo mist surround them as he took hold of Chrome's hand.

"... I see." He sighed in relief after moment's silence and a burst of Mist flame wrapped around their interconnected hands.

"I take it you're Mukuro Rokudo?" Kurt inquired, watching the boy perform an impromptu flame transfer. "The twin brother of Miss Chrome Dokuro"

"Kufufu, the one and only." By now, Tsuna was scared of Mukuro with how the brunet discreetly moved a few more feet away from the Mist user, towards the Russian doctor. It wasn't discreet enough, however, because Mukuro noticed - Tsuna was never discreet enough with his movements. "Oya oya, no need to act like a little bunny, I do not bite like a certain Skylark. However, I do have to apologize for my earlier actions."

"I-it's okay..." Tsuna replied but hide behind Kurt just in case, he paused from the shivering though when he found a lapse in his memory when he tried to remember how things escalated from point A to point B. "Wait, what happened?"

"There was a little misunderstanding when you were trying to help Chrome," The doctor informed, then furrowed his brows when he realized what Tsuna was implying. "... You don't remember?"

"I was what?" Tsuna screwed his face in concentration as he tried to remember. He brightened when he seemed to remember _something_. "Oh! You mean when I was watching over her condition?"

Tsuna glanced over to see Chrome sleeping soundly and relaxed in relief. "Looks like she's okay now! You medicine must have bought enough time for her brother to arrive."

"..." Kurt and Mukuro exchanged a brief look.

"Actually -"

"Oh, wait," Tsuna abruptly remembered something and grabbed an empty cup from the desk (a clean one) before rushing out the door. It didn't take long for the brunet to come back with the cup now holding dirt with two flowers hastily planted in it.

"Eh... I - um..." Tsuna hesitated before approaching Mukuro and placing, shakily because he was still scared of the teen, the cup into his hand. "Accidentally knocked into her and broke the pot. I'm really sorry about that..."

Mukuro blinked, staring from the brunet to the familiar pair of Chrysanthemum that Chrome had decided to bring back from a trip. He could faintly detect the residue of Harmony working on the withering one... wait a minute.

He snapped his head to the nervous brunet so fast that he almost got a whiplash. Even though the tie was gray, Mukuro, being on a decent level of control over his flames, was able to detect the retracting aura that can only belong to that of a Sky's.

"W-what's wrong?" Tsuna asked warily, backing towards the door just in case he was going to get stabbed again.

"Kufufu, this is -"

 _Tap tap tap._

Tsuna, Kurt, and Mukuro directed their attention to the window on the other side of the room and saw, much to Tsuna's horror, the messenger of death in the form of a cute little fluff ball.

"Herbivore found! Herbivore found!"

Hibird.

.

.

.

"... Herbivore, you made a mess of the hallway."

"HIIIIEEEE! I'M SORRY HIBARI-SAN!"

... And out the door Tsuna went, leaving two nonplussed individuals in the infirmary. (Tsuna didn't even question _how_ the Prefect concluded that it was _Tsuna's_ fault for the broken pot and dirt littered on the squeaky clean hallway - and he wouldn't want to know either way because something told him it would be _ridiculous_.)

Silence reigned no more than five seconds when Mukuro started kufufu'ing.

"O-Onii-sama..." Chrome had regained consciousness. She had known that her twin had helped her but she had a vague feeling that there was something else that was part of it too, something warm and safe. "W-what happened?"

"Don't get up yet, Nagi," Mukuro advised, pushing his sister back down. "And it looks like we found an interesting Sky."

Chrome blinked and tilted her head in confusion, but mostly curiosity. There weren't that many people that her brother would acknowledge after all.

... It would seem that Tsuna nabbed the attention of not only a skylark, but also two pineapples, one dangerous one not. ("Why me?!") And seeing as how they have fulfilled the prerequisite of injuring (or will be bitten to death in Hibari's case) the brunet one way or another, they were going to be _great_ friends.

* * *

"... and that concludes today's lesson!" Luce clapped with a smile towards her - ahem - _eight_ students, three Advanced and five at Intermediate. (It wasn't that much of a surprise that none of the Skies were at mastery. After all, it _is_ the rarest out of all Elements and also the most difficult to control.) "You may now freely use this facility to practice - no collateral damage though, understand?"

She got quick nods in return, but who wouldn't when she had that scary smiling face on?

"Ahem," A person at the entrance of the Sky dome coughed to get Luce's attention. "May I have a moment Headmaster Luce?"

"Of course Kurt!" She chirped back, hopping off her stool and walked towards Kurt with a certain grace that no infant could perform. "But please call me Luce, I have said it to the staff time and again that there's no need for the formality."

"Erm..." The doctor scratched to back of his head uncomfortably. "We have to show our respect somehow M'am since... well." He looks down, it... didn't feel right.

"Oh!" Luce giggled at the implication of looking down (literally) at someone with a higher authority that them. She hopped onto Kurt's shoulder and took a seat there with her little squirrel, Cosmo. "It's quite alright if it's me. Albeit that probably doesn't apply... well, to all my other companions."

"Exactly." Kurt shivered at the thought of having to deal with some of the more eccentric headmasters as he placed his hands in the pockets of his coat. "Anyways, I'm here to inquire about a matter, if you don't mind that is."

"Fire away."

"You see, I had an encounter with a student with an unknown Flame type - or at least it _was_ unknown." Kurt began. "He hasn't awaken the actual Flames, but there are strong evidences of him possessing the Sky Element."

"Oh?" Luce didn't seem fazed of he possibility of her having another student.

"Has there ever been a case where a student of an unknown Flame type to be able to draw out his or her Element's aura almost naturally but remember not a trace of it afterwards?"

"So you're saying the student had a lapse in memory from the point he subconsciously tapped into his Element to the point he woke up from a trance-induced state?"

"Erm... yes. From my studies as a doctor, even if someone subconsciously does something, he would still have a faint sense of actually performing the task, and the reason behind it. Like sleepwalking, for one example. Studies has shown that people who sleepwalks may not be able to remember exactly _what_ they have done, but they have a vague memory of doing it as well as the _why_ behind such action. To them, they're doing exactly what they most likely saw in their dreams."

"Ah, but this is a case different from sleepwalkers," Luce politely refuted with a smile. "This occurrence, unfortunately, is even rarer than someone born with FDS. So it rarely - if at all - occurs. The Elements cannot be unraveled by just scientific studies. If they can, then we would have a deeper understanding than what we currently have - especially about the Sky."

"All I can say is that as long as the person is similar to his or her Element's traits, then said Element will respond to its owners' wishes. The stronger and purer the wish is, the more the Element would be willing to surface as a guide in order to fulfill that wish. Sawada Tsunayoshi is one such person that is as close to his Element's characteristics as humanly possible. Therefore he can easily connect with his Element, its Will, if his resolve stays true to its simplest form. He is only unconsciously doing what he thinks is right. It's as natural as breathing for him so he won't notice a thing. So long as he has not bring his Element into physical manifestation, an acknowledgement of his own resolve, he will not be able to remember what he has done." Luce paused before adding helplessly, "... although there is also the likelihood of another unknown factor involved, but since they're unknown, I can't help you there."

"I... see..." Kurt trailed, trying to absorb what he have just heard.

"That child has so much potential, yet it's hidden so deep to the point you would have to see it personally to find out. Whoever that can catch a glimpse of his potential will be immediately drawn towards him, just like the Sky that encompasses all." Luce giggled and left her perching spot on Kurt's shoulder. "I apologize, but I will have to take my leave."

.

.

.

It took a full minute for Kurt to realized amiss. He never mentioned Sawada Tsunayoshi's name to Luce.

... Well, that would confirm the rumors flying around regarding the Sky headmaster's mysterious all-knowing ability. Maybe it's another Sky-exclusive thing?

* * *

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _No no no **NO!**_ Tsuna chanted in his head as he watched the scene play through his head.

It was one of the better days in the academy... except for the fact that Tsuna's group of friends seemed to have expanded. Not only does he have a swordsman, a bomber, a boxer, and a child in his happy bunch, it now included two pineapples. All - minus Chrome (Fate was kind enough to bless him with someone relatively normal) - of which were as rowdy and as destructive as humanly (Tsuna was starting to doubt they _were_ humans) possible.

He seems to attract the strangest people it seems.

It was during break between the morning and afternoon session, when they were all eating on a too-large-of-a-rooftop, that things got out of control... somehow. (Why the people Tsuna meet seem so prone to violence, he haven't a clue.)

"You know..." Yamamoto sipped from a carton of milk as he leaned against the fence. "Have you noticed?"

"Notice what?" Tsuna asked.

"We're all known to have the purest of our respective elements." The Rain user grinned. "It's almost impossible for all of us to gather in one place like this and just hangout, y'know? But You managed to get all of us together, Tsuna."

"Of course he could," Gokudera scoffed and pounded his chest in a show of confidence towards the brunet. "Tsuna-sama is Tsuna-sama after all."

"... errr... what?"

"Kufufu, you're sounding more and more like a loyal mutt," Mukuro jeered.

"What did you say, stupid Pineapple?" Hand twitched towards a dynamite.

A vein popped and trident materialized. "Oya oya, it seems the Octopus has a death wish."

"Maa maa you two -"

"EXTREME FIGHT! LET ME JOIN TOO!"

"Gyahaha! You can all bow down to Lambo-san because I'm going to beat you all!"

"G-Guys...?" Tsuna stuttered meekly. His voice was too quite for the rambunctious group to even notice... so out came grenades, dynamites, illusions, and 'EXTREME!'s.

They were starting to cause damage to the rooftop and Tsuna really didn't know what to do. If he was to enter that kind of danger zone, he was absolutely sure that he would be shred to pieces. He inched towards Chrome, who was silently watching from the side lines, and asked if she knows how to stop this.

"S-sorry..." Chrome apologized shyly. "I-I don't know..."

Tsuna sighed, idly wondering how the floor haven't been dented while the fences were already deformed from the explosives. He massaged his temple to try to get ride of the nagging thrum in the back of his head. At least they weren't using -

Colorful flames came into existence.

- _oh god,_ they were all _doomed_.

"Herbivores..."

They would soon realize that this particular rooftop was frequently visited by one Hibari Kyouya when he wants a nap, which wouldn't be happening soon since said Prefect was out for murder for Tsuna's friends were messing up his favorite spot. It was that one bench - or what was remaining of it - in the corner.

"I'll bite you all to death."

"W-wait -" Tsuna got a tonfa smacked in the face - as if he hadn't experience that multiple times already - leading the brunet to be out of commission for a few minutes. When he came back to, they were already engaged in a one-sided scuffle in the anarchist's favor. The only one that seemed to be able to fight on par with the Prefect was Mukuro.

Tonfa to the right, trident blocked and push. From the gleeful look in Mukuro's eyes (Wait, Tsuna blinked, has Mukuro's eyes always been duel color of red and blue?), the teen was enjoying the fight.

Add in a flew explosives and -

"GYYYAAAAAHHH!"

"LAMBO!"

\- the youngest of the group was caught in the cross fire and flew... off the five-story building.

That was when time just seemed to freeze for the brunet and he refused to believe everything that he was seeing.

 _No..._ His friends did not just - A heat hummed in his chest.

 _("Wow! It's so pretty!" A voice chimed in childishly. "Can I do that too?")_

 _No..._ Hibari came and - his headache got worst.

 _(A fond chuckle. "Of course. As long as you stay true to yourself, you'll be able to light one as bright as mine.")_

 _No..._ Lambo fell and - Everything stopped.

 _("Really?! How do I do it?")_

 ** _NO!_** The heat in his chest started to fluctuate violently with his emotions.

 _("Well, if there is something out there that you'll risk everything for, what will it be?")_

 _What is your resolve?_ A familiar voice echoed in Tsuna's ears as a ball of fire came into his hazed vision. The same entity that had protected him since he was six.

 _("Eh~? That's easy!")_

" **To protect -** " _("To stay with _ and everyone forever and ever!")_ " **\- my friends with my dying will.** "

His eyes glowed a brilliant sunset-orange, carrying with it an unwavering fire in each.

 _(Lips stretched into a proud grin. "There you go.")_

... And Tsuna jumped, much to the alarms of the others.

 _("Always remember what you want to fight for, okay?"_

 _"Un!"_

 _A smile. "That's my little Sky.")_

Chains seemed to unravel from within his core and flames burst into life; at first surround his entire body like a burning sun, but then shrunk to only around his hands and a spot on his forehead. Pure orange Sky Flames licked around his hands as he willed them to propel his body faster than Lambo's free-fall speed, only to stop at abruptly when he was directly under the Lightning child.

Hands reached out, flames dispersed to reveal steel black and gray gloves with an 'X' over the back as if it was sealing something, and caught Lambo just as Tsuna's feet touched the ground, letting ripples to pulse the air at the newly awakened flames.

Lambo blinked as he met with calm orange orbs and everything caught up to the child. He had fallen from a five-story building- dear lord - he was going to _die_. Tears fell as the Lightning user brawled, clutching on Tsuna's shirt while the latter let the child let everything out.

 _Thud!_

"Herbivore."

Tsuna let his gaze glance over lazily at the person who had jumped from the roof. Hibari stared back with an predatory gleam in steel grey eyes, tonfas out and ready. "Fight me."

" **No**." Tsuna narrowed his sunset-orange gaze at the Prefect. It took the latter all of his control to not _flinch_ at the deadly tone that laced the single word answer, but it filled Hibari with more desire to fight the brunet. He position his feet against the ground and charged towards Tsuna, one tonfa out and aiming for the head.

Tsuna remained unfazed by the sudden assault. Instead, he merely leaned to the side of the attack and allow his body to turn with the momentum when Hibari immediately went with an horizontal swipe. He made the mistake of showing his back towards Hibari though, and a split second latter, a tonfa hacked again Tsuna's back, causing him to cough violently.

The brunet clicked his tongue when he stumbled forward - and almost dropping a frightened Lambo in the process. When another tonfa came at his temple, Tsuna threw a hand out to catch the weapon, Sky flames once again licking his gloved hand. With a grunt, he managed to push Hibari away and settle Lambo down.

"Go to the others." Tsuna gestured to Gokudera and the others that came down but halted in a safe distant when Hibari when on the offense. When Lambo was still paralyzed on his spot, Tsuna laced more assertion in his next command. " **Now**."

That put the child on autopilot immediately.

While Tsuna's attention was focused on making sure that Lambo was out of the impromptu battleground, Hibari came back tenfold - meaning the chains came out and took Tsuna prisoner... or would have if Tsuna didn't move.

Instead, the chains wrapped around Tsuna's arm. Both ends pulled against each other, standing on firm ground until Hibari decided to use the other chain on the other tonfa to lasso at the brunet.

Tsuna flipped into the air with a spin - that was a bad move of course, sine Hibari can now reel Tsuna. Thinking fast, the brunet changed this advantage to his own as he decided to a midair assault kick.

Eyes wide in surprise, Hibari blocked the incoming kick with his tonfas.

Tsuna narrowed his sunset-orange eyes as they clash. Within seconds, he swing his other free leg around to knock the tonfas out of Hibari's grip. It didn't work because the Skylark retreated upon seeing the movement, leading Tsuna to fall to spring back and away with his hands to gain distance.

"Hibari -"

 _Clink._

The chains lashed out once more.

" _Hibari_." Tsuna gritted as propagating chains fastened around his upper torsos, aiming to tight his arms to his body. His hands went up to pull, hoping stop to himself from being completely caught. It worked, somewhat, with his Sky Flames burning erratically. "I don't want to fight you anymore than necessary."

With another grunt, he managed to pull the chains apart and held them in his hands; however, instead of a tug-o-war like the first time, Tsuna proved that he wasn't on par with Hibari's physical strength when the latter made a swift, but aggressive, tug that sent Tsuna flying like a rag doll towards a tree near by.

The jarring impact, along with the Sky Flames that he had only _just_ unlocked, Tsuna slipped back into his normal state. Orange undoubtedly fading back into back brown under closed lids, the flame on his head sizzling into nothingness, and the gloves became orange flames before being blown out like a candle and revealing hands sustaining second degree burns.

"I would stop right there if I were you." A warning came before Hibari could deal anymore damage to the unconscious. He turned as saw the one everyone recognizes as the headmaster in the current Sun seat.

"... Baby carnivore." Hibari acknowledged and his tonfas disappear to god-knows-where.

"Headmaster Reborn!" Gokudera greeted hastily as he and the others made their way closer to the trio. "Is Tsuna-sama alright?"

"Overexertion of flames," Reborn deduced from a quick glance, then he discreetly looked over at the seven flame users present and noticed the fading glow in their eyes that matched their Element - he knew that to be a sign of recognition for _their_ Sky. (Though... most Elements acknowledge their Skies by the telltale click of their flames. It had never been physically visible unless the Elements were a perfect fit like that of a jigsaw puzzle - not that most people know this of course, since the chances were rare beyond rare.)

He pulled his fedora down and trotted over to the inspect the burn. "But for a first time user, he has decent control... especially over pure Sky Flames."

"Tsuna was awesome! Did you see the flames on his hand - whoaaaa!" Yamamoto exclaimed, excitement turning into worry when he saw the burn over both hands. "I-Is that supposed to happen?"

"He should be lucky they were _only_ second degree burns," Reborn answered. "With the amount he was outputting without sufficient control over the quantity _and quality_ , it wouldn't only have been his hands. Especially when it was also his first time materializing his weapon using his own flames. That kind of technique should only be reserved for experienced Advanced level and up."

"... Not a bad performance for a Beginner." The infant smirked, pushing his fedora up to reveal gleaming beady eyes. "He just needs proper training."

...

Reborn kicked the double door open. "I'm back."

Luce sighed, resting her head on her palm. "Would it kill you to open the door normally?"

"Yes." The hitman responded without a beat, walking into Luce's office and talking a seat in front of her desk.

"How did it go?"

"Your visions never did cease to amaze me."

Luce laughed, "C'mon, and I thought you're used to it by now!"

"Still unsettles me at how you can see through everything." Reborn rebutted almost indignantly. He was the World's Greatest Hitman, he does not behave childishly... no matter how young his physical appearance makes him. "I treated his burn. The troublemaker kids seemed to be a bit of worrywarts when it comes to the boy."

"Hm," Luce hummed pleasantly. "Only a Sky like Tsunayoshi would be able to bring the most untamable of the Elements together and let them co-exist."

"You're telling me," Reborn grunted, pulling down his fedora to hide the amused smirk he was wearing. "One of the old reports said they rejected the Skies that wanted to recruit them into their teams, didn't they?"

"They were only waiting for the right on." Luce supplied with a delighted smile. "Oh, I can't wait Reborn! With Vongola Council's Sky coming back and adding Tsunayoshi, I'll have a full ten students! I have both hands with no fingers left over now!"

.

.

.

"... right. Ten." Reborn coughed. "Congratulations."

"Reborn!" Luce pouted indignantly. "Don't laugh! I'm really happy about this!"

"Luce, I don't get your sentiment since the rest of us have a few _hundred_ fingers each to supervise."

"Reborn!"

The other groaned and surrender to the urge to bang her head against her desk because it was only her and Reborn, there wasn't a need to act professional with long-time friends. "I hate you all."

"Love you too."

* * *

 **Ehhh... yeah. That happened. Actually, _a lot_ happened.**

 **Seventh chapter, everyone gathered, bonds formed (tentatively - they just met 'kay?), resolve met and acknowledged, flames acquired. Still the Academy arc though. And haha, the tenth student of the Sky Dome, how ironic.**

 **Since that was Tsuna's first _real_ fight, it's can't be that good right? He doesn't have much experience as of yet. _But,_ Tsuna bypassed a level because of Hyper Dying Will mode LOL - it's just one of those things that happen due to the extremity of the situation though.**

 **And just saying: no, the Vongola Council isn't going to be the First Generation. (I'm sure you have a few guesses as to their roles by now.)**

 **P.S. Does people... prefer longer chapters?**


	8. Chaos

**I apologize ahead of time for any grammar mistakes and character OCCness if it were to occur.**

 **AU. GEN Fic. No pairings.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

* * *

 **Summary** : Sky, Storm, Lightning, Rain, Sun, Mist, and Cloud, these were known as the seven Knights - or Elements - of the Sky in legends and myths that once appeared out of nowhere and rescued the world from disaster and guide it to an era of change. Or so it was dictated in children's books. Nowadays, there are people who have flames that goes by the same names as the weathers.

* * *

 _A blanket of coldness wrapped over him when he felt so lost. Where was everyone? Why was everything covered in white mist?_

 _He suddenly felt like a child all over again, lost and completely, utterly_ alone.

 _He wasn't sure if he had wailed or not, because even when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. He couldn't hear, he couldn't shout, he couldn't call for help - would anyone even_ bother _to look -_

 _He could make out the silhouette of a giant - so big and so strong yet so accepting - coming nearer and nearer. In all his experiences, he should probably be wary - scared even - because of the unknown. But no, he wasn't. All he felt was trust. A firm trust that rooted him down, telling him that he was_ safe _now._

 _He stood still and waited as the_ _silhouette of a human came closer and closer. When it was within his vision... he realized that it was Fire-san._

 _Fire-san grew, he noted, grew strong and bright._

 _He wanted to say something but his voice still failed to make a sound. He didn't need to though, because s_ _uddenly, he felt a weight on his head and warmth replaced the cold. He knew it was Fire-san, but he didn't know_ how _Fire-san had taken on something akin to a human form._

 _Murmurs - too incoherent yet he still try to strain to catch even a word - of comfort pass through his ears as he was embraced by the caring arms. But before he could even have a good look at the person (Fire-san_ _had to be a person at some point) that had such a gentle touch, everything_ _had faded with a gust of wind; though not before letting the breeze carry one more string of silent words over towards him._

 _Without realizing it, tears fell as a pang of longing struck down on him like lightning._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _"Stay strong, little one."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

Tsuna woke up not to the sound of annoying cymbals, but to the wetness of tears trailing down his temples. "W-what...?" He quickly sat up, ignoring the sudden soreness that washed all over his body. He had sustained enough injuries from in his life (The past two weeks in the academy was worth half of all the bullying he suffered) to wake up with either an aching body or a headache or both and be able to disregard them with relative ease.

He wiped the tears away, but no matter how hard he tries, he couldn't remember what he had just dreamed.

The rough texture of cloth distracted his attention though. He blinked as he finally took notice of the gauze that had mummified his hands. Memories of yesterday's event resurfaced unlike all the other times he had retried to recall from a memory lapse.

The rooftop, Lambo's fall, saving Lambo, the fight with Hibari - the fight... with... Hibari...

"... HIIIIEEEEE-"

 _Bang!_

\- a bullet grazing his cheek rudely halted his girly shriek. Tsuna gulped, paling, as he locked gaze with the shooter... and saw Reborn with a green gun that has smoke coming out at the end.

"That has _got_ to go within a week."

"W-what?" Tsuna leaned again, only to hit the bed frame of... this was _not_ his bed. Better yet, this was not even _his room_.

"Obviously," The fedora-wearing toddler scoffed. "You spend three days recovering in the infirmary."

"Oh..." The brunet backtracked. "Wait, _three days?!_ "

"Accessing more flames than you could control over does that to you. Especially when it was your first time." Reborn answered blandly. "You're lucky that you only came out with second - borderline third - degree burns on your hands. There have been cases of students needing _weeks_ to recover due to strain of the body and mind."

Tsuna grimaced at the bit of information. So maybe he _did_ come out better than he expected, but missing three days of school... how much work would that amount up to in his classes?!

"More than you could possibly imagine." The infant smirked. "I seem to recall Lal wanting to triple your exercises because of your stupidity."

"How did you -"

"Your face is an open book, fix it."

 _Easier said than done!_ Tsuna wailed mentally.

"Oh but when I'm through with you, it will be a walk in the park."

"... are you _sure_ you don't read minds?"

"Hell no, why would I want to hear ever single thought of every single pathetic students on campus?"

Oh, ouch. The infant was quite blunt and brutally with his words, but he didn't even answer the question proper -

 _Bang!_

\- "Stop complaining." Reborn all but demanded as he pushed his fedora up with his pistol, beady eyes gleaming with enough mischief that Tsuna's instincts were screaming at him to hightail out of there. (Just like when Reborn came to his house.) "Why, I'm insulted Dame-Tsuna. You don't enjoy my presence?"

Already by now, Tsuna was convinced that Reborn could read mind, not faces. "N-No...! I-I -" He stopped when the other cocked the gun, being quite trigger happy at the moment, much to Tsuna's horror.

"Just so you know, I don't allow my students to stutter."

"Hii -" Tsuna swallowed the scream when he saw the index finger tempting to press down on the trigger. "I mean - S-sorry!"

"What did I just said?"

"T-that -" The brunet forced himself out of his habit of stuttering because of his ever-present nervousness due to obvious reasons. "That you don't allow your students to - wait, since when am I your student?!"

"Since now -" _Bang!_ \- Reborn fired another warning shot, causing Tsuna to duck with a desperate yelp. "And you're hundreds of years too early to raise your voice at me."

Tsuna wised up and clammed up.

"Good choice." The infant pulled down his fedora and smirked. "I was requested... by your father, to tutor you once you manage to unlock your flames."

Tsuna blinked, then furrowed his frowns in confusion. His father? Wait, wait, wait, his father _knew_ what this school was about?! And he didn't even _warn_ him before leaving him to the wolves?!

"Ah, yes, that... _father_ of yours," Reborn clicked his tongue. "Iemitsu Sawada, is a bit of a ditz in my opinion. I have had enough of him going on and on about his 'beautiful wife' and 'perfect son'."

Tsuna felt a pang in his heart when the toddler used a singular instead of a plural for the last word but he pushed it away. He has always been a little (read: most of the time) ignored by his family after all.

"Oh no, he spoke plenty about you too." Reborn interjected _happily_ like the epitome of sadism he was. " _Wonderful_ adjectives ranging from Tuna fish to harmless to useless-to-a-fault."

Okay, again, _ouch_. But a father is a father nonetheless, Tsuna somewhat defended in his head, he and Nana were the parents that raised him and gave him a home after all. He was too busy mulling over those facts to see Reborn slightly nodding at him in approval... of something.

"Quite the numskull father, that Iemitsu." From the barely noticeable detest in his voice, Tsuna could guess that Reborn didn't hold his father highly. So... why did Reborn agree to a request from him then?

"I wouldn't take orders from him even if my life depends on it. But he just had to go to _Nono_ of all people and asked him for a tutor for his son, which leads to Nono sending a _personal_ request to _me,_ and I can't ignore that." He then mumbled something along the lines of 'idiots abusing their powers' but the brunet didn't catch it.

Tsuna raised a brow. He was a bit skeptically that his father would go to... _wait, who's Nono?_

"The Ninth Boss of the Vongola Famiglia."

Oh - wait...

 _Vongola Famiglia..._ The brunet scrunched up his face in contemplation. _Famiglia? Famiglia._ **Mafia.**

... and his brain went _click._

Oh.

 _Oh._

 _OH_ \- "HIIIIIEEEEEEE?!" Damn, he couldn't keep his mouth shut for long. He flopped over to avoid a head shot (God bless his intuition).

"Tch, you're not as slow as the reports dictated." Why does Reborn sound so disappointed?! "Yes, your father is in the mafia. Second-in-command of the most influential Famiglia in the underworld."

Tsuna could only gape like a freakin' fish... and more revelations graced his thoughts because they wanted to mess with the brunet even more. Reborn was an infant. At Ultima Thule. Lal. Infant. School. Colonello. Infant. School - Headmaster!

.

.

.

 _Holy sh -_

"I'm not only one of the headmasters, I'm also the World's Great Hitman." Tsuna could practically _hear_ the capital letters and - _whoa_. That would mean this academy is connected to -

"Yes, it is connected to the mafia. Let me tell you clearly now, Ultima Thule is a learning facility that raises future generations of mafiosi."

"Can you not finish my thoughts?" Tsuna said exasperatedly.

"No." Reborn smirked. "It's amusing, to say the very least, to mess with people."

Tsuna groaned. Great, he's dealing with a sadist and he lost the privacy of his mind. "But I don't _want_ to be in the mafia!" How could he be a bad guy anyways? He's Dame-Tsuna! (That was the first time Tsuna relied on the deprecating nickname to get him out of a sticky situation.) Mafia involved a lot of things that were a big no no for him; Guns, fights, guns, explosions, illegal activities, guns, and many more (did he mention guns already?) that could give Tsuna a one way ticket to prison - and he's too _young_ to be getting tattoos!

(How Tsuna had even gotten to that conclusion was a mystery to everyone but him... and those who can read minds.)

"Your complaints are long overdue," Reborn deadpanned. "You don't have a choice anymore, especially not after displaying your Sky Flames. If the underworld society finds out there's an unaffiliated Sky, you'll be hunted down like piece of meat."

"W-WHAT?!"

Reborn decided to be kind and ignored the outburst. "So you either remain under the protection of Ultima Thule until you learn a thing or two on self-preservation skills or we'll throw you to the wolves. And let me tell you another thing: once you've unlocked your flames, it's quite _easy_ for other flame users to detect you."

Tsuna wanted to cry, but from the first ten minutes that he talked to Reborn, he already knew that he would be shot dead before even a tear could escape.

"Heh, you learn quick."

"STOP _DOING_ THAT!"

"Are you telling me what to do?" Reborn questioned testily with a beady gleam and - and where the hell did he get a one-ton hammer from?! It was slightly better than the gun but that wasn't the point! The point was that Reborn was violating the laws of physics by taking something as big as Tsuna's head out out nowhere! (Not that Tsuna could understand physics in the first place.)

Incidentally, Tsuna noted that it... it has eyes _._ He repeats _. Blinking yellow eyes._ What the literal -

"Dame-Tsuna, if you don't start getting up right this minute, you're going to be late." Reborn inched closer with the hammer. "I don't care really care about your tardiness, but I do have a reputation to uphold when it comes to my students."

"... And that is...?"

"They're _perfect_ in everything they do. _"_ That specific smirk that had a sharp edge to it send Tsuna up and running for his life. " _Or else._ "

In the end, Tsuna never had a choice.

... he now regretted ever finding his flames.

.

.

.

When he bolted into class, rudely interrupting the lesson that had begun, the all-too-familiar feeling of being under the gazes of hawks left him tripping over his own two feet at the entrance.

"S-sorry I'm late!" He apologized hastily, with a heated face, as he stand right back up with renewed vigor and... saluted.

The History teacher stared at Tsuna's bedraggled appearance with a sense of deja vu, then his gaze zero'ed in on the collar. "... Where's your tie, Tsunayoshi?"

"E-eh?" The brunet inclined his head down to unbuttoned collar and took notice of the absence of said article. "Uh... I... forgot?"

The adult sighed and made a note on the attendance sheet. "Points deducted for tardiness, disturbing class, _and_ for wearing incomplete uniform."

Tsuna gaped. He was deducted points for _incomplete_ uniform? But - but he _has_ his uniform on - it's just... it's just a _tie_! Just how strict was was this school's standards?

(... apparently, very strict.)

"Go sit down."

"H-hai!" Tsuna snapped out of his stupor and sped walk towards his seat, being greeted by Gokudera and Yamamoto in the process and gaining more glares for the aforementioned reasons.

"Right..." Svero drawled and rubbed his chin with his index and thumb. He then fished out a laser pointer and it was lit up with Mist flames within seconds. He started to draw in midair, the flames project out all sorts of things ranging from people to inventions to theories with just a single stroke each. "Hm... the Age of Enlightenment, or the Enlightenment era. As I have said before, it proceeds the Age of Reasoning and is where the reformations of the traditional system really starts to pick up. Around here, in eighteenth century Europe..."

Tsuna was really amazed at how History class was turning out to be as days passed. At first, Svero was all lecture with not much demonstration, but now? He was showcasing his abilities as a Mist flame user. (He had explained a while ago that he hadn't been able to use his flames till now because he had been looking for a better conduit. The ring - one of the lower class ones that wasn't so durable - he had before had been worn out due to excessive use.)

He had been too mesmerized by these flame-works that he doesn't sleep through History anymore. It felt as though he was _living_ in that specific era due to how real all of it felt.

... Too bad Math wasn't the same. The Math teacher had been more towards the theories than the application of flames. Besides, he was of the Storm attribute. The most he could do would be demonstrating _simple subtractions_ because y'know, Storm _disintegrates_. ("You have one desk, but then one was taken away, how many desks do you have left?" Zero, and a new desk had to be replaced by the one that had turned to dust.)

"... and that's it for today's lesson. The Enlightenment era is only the built up to what we will be focusing on in our next lecture. The nineteenth century is where everything began. Where _our_ history begins." Servo announced and with a snap of a finger, the illusions disappears. "Remember you have a report that is due next Friday and as for you three." His attention was on Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto. "Since I'm supposed to double your assignments, then on top of your report, I expect a thorough research on late eighteenth century Enlightenment ideas, including detailed diagrams that are _personally_ done by each of you. Understand?"

Gokudera and Yamamoto chorus their answer of understanding while some of their classmates snickered while others wore pitying looks. Tsuna, though, had been frozen - _not_ because of the doubling of homework but because the reality of everything seemed to be finally settling into his mind when -

 _'Where_ our _history begins.'_

 _'Where_ our _history begins.'_

 _ **'Where**_ **our** _ **history begins.'**_

.

.

.

He was in a mafia school.

A **_frickin_ '** mafia school for the best of the best within the mafia world. (There were obviously more than one since enemy famiglias can't exactly be in the same territory without going at each other's throat.)

... Riiiight.

How exactly did he get into this kind of predicament? Oh right, because that infant who claimed to be a hitman claimed to be his father's co-worker came barging into his house and smacked the letter of admission into his face... Then again, he had no idea how _that_ came about because all of this had to start from _somewhere_.

And there was his friends, Tsuna mused as he cast a look at Gokudera and Yamamoto. Ultima Thule being a mafia school does explain _a lot_ as to why no one minded when Gokudera pulled out dynamites out of nowhere or Yamamoto carrying a sword-disguised-shinai around or - or why the school supported _violence_...

Thinking back to that strange conversation when Yamamoto told Gokudera that he was a 'civilian'... so that was what it was about.

 _They **knew**_. Tsuna furrowed his brows, semi-glaring at a spot on his desk. Everyone around him, including his new friends... they all _knew_ \- heck, he wouldn't be surprised if _Lambo_ was in that circle as well even if he was only _ten_. And - and _they didn't even tell him_.

It left a bitter taste in his mouth at the thought of being left out, it's the same as being outcasted by everyone again because he was _dame_. Like that time during a class camping trip. His group ditched him because he couldn't keep up - they didn't want him weighing them down.

"Ne, Tsuna? What'cha doing? General classes are over already!"

Tsuna tried to stop himself from anymore self-deprecating thoughts because it wasn't going to help with anything. (And he had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he had missed Math class... then again, Tsuna never paid attention to it anyways.)

"Tch, don't bother Tsuna-sama when he's busy!"

He thought back to his friends' sincerity that they have shown thus far (he knew they were real, that weird intuition of his told him so and he trust his intuition) and decided that he should have more faith in them and wait. (A thrum of approval accompanied his silent decision but it wasn't from that intuition of his.)

"Ah, s-sorry..." Tsuna smiled. "I was just thinking."

.

.

.

Things were relatively normal when Tsuna and his friends got their lunch from the mess hall... Then one Rokudo Mukuro came in and everything just went down south.

He was the devil's incarnation, Tsuna decided. _A devil's incarnation_.

Why?

Because the moment he and his sister stepped in, he did his 'kufufu'... and promptly redecorated the entire mess hall into some horrid scene that could only come from a zombie apocalypse film as a... as a way of _greeting?!_

... A greeting to the complete chaos that ensued.

"Oh my god ohmygodohmygodOHMYGOD!"

"EEEEEEKKKK! W-WHAT IS THIS?!"

"WHERE ARE WE?!"

"WE 'RE GOING TO DIE!"

"NOOOO! I STILL NEED TO GET A GIRLFRIEND BEFORE I DIE!"

"DONE DEAL! YOU'RE MY BOYFRIEND, NOW WE CAN DIE IN PEACE!"

"YOU JUST MADE THIS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

"FOR NARNIA!"

Tsuna... was horrified. No, not with the zombie apocalypse (and Tsuna briefly wondered if something was wrong with him). He was appalled at how the comments that people were screaming out were getting weirder and weirder and - and his _friends_ were not even fear-stricken and running around like a headless chicken like _every other normal student_ (or as normal as people in the academy can get). _Noooooo_ , instead, they were _poking_ and _kicking_ and _conversing_ and _laughing_ at _zombies_ and **just what the _hell_ was _wrong_ with the people Tsuna hangs out with?!**

"Haha! So you were 'grrrrr ' and 'uurrrr' and 'braiiiinnnsss'? That's awesome!"

"Ooorrrrgh?"

"Oi, get the f*** away from me you UMA wannabes!" _Boom!_

"Braiiinnns."

"LET'S HAVE AN EXTREME MATCH!"

"Urrrrrghh."

"GAAAAAHHHH! TSUNA-NIIIII! HEEEELLP!"

Well... at least Lambo was -

"THE DEAD GUY WON'T BLOW UP!"

\- Tsuna wondered why he even bothered.

Tsuna looked down at his lunch, finding it to be a plate of wiggling worm-ghetti, a bowl of gurgling eyeball soup, and something that Tsuna dare not identify. From the sickly dark look that was cast over his impassive face, Tsuna decided that he'd just lost his appetite. And from the appearance of colorful flames and the explosions that started to appear, Tsuna should _really_ start -

A head flew right in front of his tray as if it was a cheery on top.

\- "HIIIIIEEEEE!" Tsuna finally went into his panic mode, throwing tossing the tray in a random direction and -

"Herbivore..."

\- it managed to land in the face of one _Hibari Kyouya_ who had entered the fray upon detecting disorder. That was not good. _That was not good at all_.

"H-hiiee -" Tsuna paused, then blinked before his entire face was drain of his color and was absolutely _traumatized_ -

"H-Hiabri-san... y-you...!"

\- because _what the literal f***_ , the anarchist was wearing a-a colorful afro with his face painted entirely white with a star on his right eye and a tear drop underneath and he was wearing one of those baggy suits for _clowns_ for f***'s sake! That was just... just _wrong_. (Maybe Tsuna would have laughed if the victim had been someone else but this was _Hibari Kyouya_ and you don't just prank the demon prefect without asking for a death wish.)

Hibari frowned, not liking how Tsuna was pointing at him (that was one more reason for Hibari to bite the brunet to death) but looked down on his person to find what was so horrifying that had the brunet sending his soul out of his mouth (not that it was anything new. Tsuna was scared witless by a lot of things.)

And the room dropped a few degrees.

Tsuna was now mentally scarred by clowns. Then again, he never liked them that much anyways. They always look like they were playing innocent to fool the adults and whisk away oblivious kids right under their noses. (I mean, just _look_ at how they were always smiling and grinning and never say a word when they approach kids! And Hibari made it worst because the demon was looking _absolutely murderous!_ )

"Kufufufu." Mukuro took out a camera and proceeded to snap pictures.

... Dear lord.

.

.

.

" **... I'll bite you to death.** "

The rest, as one could say, was all history.

Well... it would have been if not before the Saber that came in between them and was then embedded in the ground right in front of Tsuna. The gleaming reflection of Tsuna on the stainless steel as if indicating he was the next victim was enough for the brunet's heart to jump out of his throat and live a life under a rock.

"Enough is enough."

He gulped and looked towards the source of the voice, only to be stared down by icy silver-green eyes. His attention was then stolen away by the 'tsk tsk' of one Reborn on that person's shoulder.

"You missed."

Tsuna was scandalized by the pure _disappointment_ in Reborn's tone. Does he want Tsuna to loose a toe or two? Or worse yet, have his entire leg decapitated?!

"Headmaster Reborn," Sirene responded respectfully as the saber embedded in the ground disappear in Cloud flames. "The students' well-beings are under the Council's jurisdiction, that is a given. As a part of the council itself, I need to show mercy." Her attention was the switched to the heterochromatic teen. "Mukuro Rokudo, recall your illusion this instant."

"Kufufu, since when do you have the right to order me around?" Mukuro had made himself clear that he was a maverick. No one could tell him what to do. Well... maybe with the exception of his sister...

Sirene frowned, but had expected the response from one of the more troublesome students to handle. It was worth the try anyways. She waved a hand and a few adults came in, all of which proved to be Mist flame users (if the the indigo flames that they ignited were anything to go by) that were qualified as professional illusionists because even if one uses Mist flames doesn't necessarily mean they were illusionists. (Having Mist flames was the prerequisite, illusionists also need an active imagination as well as a certain level of mentality.)

"Then, would you kindly explain _why_ you have caused such a commotion?" Sirene pried while the academy staff dispelled Mukuro's illusions. "I do have to make a report, y'know."

"Kufufu, let's just say... I felt like it."

Tsuna sweatdropped at Mukuro's answer, but his intuition was probing at him that it wasn't the right answer. From the gleeful glint that had shown in Mukruo's eyes before and the fact that he had taken _pictures_ (it was too bad that the first thing Hibari did when he lunge was to destroy said camera), it was as though he was doing it just for the hell of annoying the one Hibari Kyouya. (Tsuna had no doubt about that and he would later learn that the two of them had been at each other's throat _way_ before Tsuna met them.)

Sirene's hand twitched for the saber strapped to her waist. "You..."

"H-hey um..." Tsuna squeaked, speaking up for the first time. Four pair of eyes landed on him and almost made him jump out of his skin at how annoyed half of them were (Sirene and Hibari). "N-never mind..."

"Oh no, please speak up." Reborn coaxed - yeah right, if coaxing meaning the infant casually tossing the comment out while polishing the shiny blank pistol in his hands, then Reborn was, by all means, coaxing - and not threatening to shoot if Tsuna doesn't comply. "We're _happy_ to get another opinion."

Tsuna felt chills run down his spin and the image of the devil popped up. "W-well... M-Mukuro didn't do _that_ much damage. So... so i-isn't it fine?"

"Fine?" Sirene narrowed her eyes, scowling. "Have you ever thought about the fact that _h_ _alf_ the students here are most likely _mentally scarred_ and it would take weeks of therapy to heal them? From your question just now, most likely not, so request denied. As the only Vongola Council member currently available at the moment, I have to issue a punishment equal to the damage caused."

"Why you - how dare you be so disrespectful to Tsuna-sama!" Gokudera exclaimed, the rest of his friends had been illusion-free and was now by his side. "You want me to blow you up?!"

"G-Gokudera-kun...! S-she's -" Tsuna paused, replayed what the raven haired girl just said, and was appalled that - "Y-you part of Vongola Council?!"

"... Isn't that what I said?" Sirene deadpanned, pointing at the nice looking gold badge (that resemble the intrinsic design stitched on Vongola students' collars) on her chest that are only issued to members of the Vongola Council. "It should be obvious."

"Hiiiii -"

 _Bang!_

"Continue that scream..." Reborn warned as he fired the warning shot that _just_ grazed the bruent's cheek. "... and I won't miss the next time."

Tsuna clammed up and hid behind the tallest person he knew - which was Yamamoto. (For once, Tsuna glad he was short. He could hide behind the tall ravenette completely.)

"Headmaster Reborn." Sirene frowned in disapproval. "Please don't get involved in the students' affair."

"I do whatever I like."

The Cloud flame user was now getting a headache. She wondered why the infant hitman bothered to accompany her in the first place. "I understand, but _please_ , you promised to only _observe_."

"Which I am."

"But-" Sirene sighed, a hand up to massage her temple. "Never mind." Her attention returned to Mukuro. "We don't give special treatments even if you're one of the students with top potential."

"Oya oya" Mukuro smirked. "who said I want any?"

" _Mukuro_ ," Tsuna stressed, clearly worried for his... Tsuna didn't really want to view the illusionist as a friend (hell, he didn't want to view _Hibari_ as one) but that doesn't mean he wouldn't be concerned. "can't you please just... _pretend_ to get along?"

Said teen zero'ed in on the brunet. "... I am no mutt of yours."

"W-what?" Tsuna sputtered indignantly. "When did I - no! I don't want you as a subordinate!"

"Oya? So my presence is not welcomed?"

"Huh?!" If not for Tsuna's mind telling him that Mukuro was acting, he would have been convinced that Mukuro was hurt because damn, that was some good acting skills.

"That's right!" Gokudera added fuel to fire and the little alien (what else could it be?) in Tsuna's head seemed to be telling him to prepare for the worse. "A f***ing pineapple like you don't deserve to be Tsuna-sama's underling! So why don't you just go continue your love spat with the f***ing Skylark!"

.

.

.

Correction: Gokudera added a LOT of fuel.

Tsuna wondered if he'll will make it out alive. Because a pineapple and a skylark was now out for blood. _Tsuna's_ blood because Gokudera was loyal to the brunet which meant it was _Tsuna's_ fault for Gokudera's speculation which meant everything lead back to _Tsuna_ which meant _Tsuna_ was done for.

Life was so unfair. _Soooo_ unfair.

* * *

Lal just stared as her student ran for his life because of the two demons hot on his trail.

"Oi, Tsunayoshi!" She hollered. "If you're going to die, die _after_ attending my class!" Whether or not the boy heard her, she didn't really care but she was not happy that one of her students missed class because of a stupid stunt. I mean, she would've looked the other way if she was the one that told Tsuna to jump off that building and fight with Hibari but no, she didn't. So she was pretty pissed.

The rest of her class was already inside the dome to practice manifesting and controlling their flames and making a literal mess in the process while Tsuna was out here, making a fool of himself when he could obviously - oh. Right.

Lal just remembered something and smacked a ring in front of Tsuna's face when he had came close. "Since you're not coming in anytime soon, practice while you're running for your life."

Tsuna wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry at this but put on the ring anyways. How was he supposed to call his flames aga - he dodged to the side of a tonfa, arched over to avoid a stab from a trident, and finally remembered that it had something to do with his resolve.

Picturing the past event, the feeling was still fresh in his memory - the denial that one of his friend was going to get hurt - _going to die_ , the swelling urge to protect his friends no matter what and - _whoosh!_

"I... I did it..." Tsuna's voice slowly dropped an octave as he stared calmly at bright orange flames that the ring produced. His head cleared from all those jumbo'ed up thoughts and he could see and decide his next course of actions so _clearly_.

Lal was intrigued at the change in the air around Tsuna all of a sudden. It spoke of strength and confidence, the same that had been reflected in _sunset_ -orange eyes. From the looks of the Sky flames that were concentrated in intensity around his hands and forehead, Lal realized something.

 _The kid's a natural_. She thought, impressed.

Once Tsuna had found his resolve, it was as if he was a fish finally returned into the waters.

His change in appearance and in aura was so obviously the evidence of the heritage that runs through his veins, but it only served to help Tsuna utilize his flames better.

She watched as Hibari was the first to broke out of the short-lived daze that they seemed to have entered, then he immediately attacked with a battle-crazed look in his eyes. Chains were unraveled out of the secret compartment of his tonfas and Hibari took aim. Mukuro had then followed suit by erecting a few lava plumes from the ground to disrupt... well... to disrupt Tsuna's mobility as well as Hibari's because there was no way in hell that he was working along with the Cloud.

Although Lal had to applaud Tsuna for his sudden increase in control of his flames, the brunet was still a rookie when it came to fighting. And if what Reborn told her was the truth, then Tsuna had been able to create his own weapons with his flames - gloves was the blithe description. They have used a school-issued(which was basically her and the rest of the headmasters) guideline to categorized the students with high proficiency in control and those of low proficiency. At a certain point, when students passed from one level to another (like an Intermediate into Advanced) they needed to show that they could do something that only the next level or higher could do.

And so, being able to materialize a weapon using one's own flames was definitely one of the ways to show that the person should be an Advanced level student with proficient control over his or her flames. There were several other ways as well, and each have their own difficulties because of the difference in experience. Take Hibari and Mukuro for example; Hibari was at ease with multiplying his weapon, extending or retracting his chains with but a thought while Mukuro can call his trident back and forth as if he had always been holding it. It proves that the two of them were experienced Advanced flame users.

She frowned when she still saw bare hands coated with Sky flames as they move about to block assaults. If what Reborn said was correct, then... why haven't she seen the proof yet? But in any case, Tsuna's hands were burning red now, which mean that the boy can't control the flames' property yet. If she let this fight prolong any further, then Tsuna might as well end up with something worse than a third degree burn.

Lal sighed as she pulled the rifle off of her back and took aim just as Tsuna exhausted his flames. (He doesn't have an unlimited supply after all!)

 _Bang!_

A doze of Rain Flames spread out from the bullet that had been buried in the ground near the trio. It released tendrils of Rain flames that forcibly relaxing their muscles and slowing their movements.

"Stop wasting my time and get back to your classes - and I don't _care_ what your complaints are!" Lal shot down what Hibari might have said and glared back tenfold when the same boy scowled at her. "Just get out of my sight!"

Granted, she was one of the very few that Hibari respected so she didn't have much trouble in telling him what to do. And Mukuro had been gone the moment the bullets were embedded in the ground which would only mean one less person to deal with.

Lal waddled over to Tsuna, the latter returning back to his pathetic state and panting heavily due to exhaustion from the short exchange of blows that didn't even last five minutes.

She clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction; the kid needed to work on his stamina.

"T-thank you..." Tsuna said meekly, dropping down to his hunches and then sprawled onto the ground.

Lal rolled her eyes. "You seem to have a better control over the quantity that you're able to exert this time. But..." Lal felt like she had just given a compliment so she was going to continue with the faults that she had observed. "What kind of a sissy fight was that?! You were full of openings and barely any offense and you didn't even last _five_ \- freakin' - minutes before depleting your flame reservoir!"

"Hiiiiieee! I-I'm sorry!"

Lal huffed, feeling that all was well again, and left shortly after ordering Tsuna to get his burned hands ("Hiiieee! W-Was that _supposed_ to happen?!") healed with in the nearest infirmary with a Sun Flame user.

* * *

In the end, Mukuro still couldn't escape from the penalty of creating chaos in the mess hall (Reborn had given the punishment in the end and no one disobeys Reborn unless they have a death wish). But then, Tsuna kind of wish Mukuro did because it would mean that Mukuro didn't have to come to their detention, which, in turn, led to Chrome following along as well as... Hibari because, well, they haven't settle their grudge yet (and never will).

All in all, the new addition to Tsuna's detention class was only making it worst for Tsuna's stress level. At least... _at least_ Mukuro and Hibari haven't clashed yet. But then again, it has only been five minutes since they came onto their designation. A good _heavenly_ five minutes that Tsuna will forever treasure for the rest of his life because it was a _miracle_ that said two haven't fought yet, Gokudera haven't bark at anyone, Yamamoto was making a nice conversation with Ryohei (both haven't provoked the bomber in any way yet), Lambo was obediently keeping his artillery and bombardment weapons out of sight, and Chrome (again, god bless her sweet soul) wasn't one to casually step on a landmine.

It felt like some kind of unspoken ceasefire.

However, that kind of peace was never destined to stay with Tsuna because Fate was cruel like that. Then again, he didn't like his fate in the first place so the feeling was mutual.

Colonello whistled in amusement , signaling the the ceasefire to end and insanity to begin. "Wow, a full set of Elements today, that's quite rare."

"Uh... I-I don't think some of them are part of this..." Tsuna helpfully provided. "And... and Chrome is also a Mist."

The blonde infant waved off that small piece of information. "Alright, if you guys haven't noticed, today's the last day of the week that I'll be your supervisor."

Tsuna blinked, surprised that the week have gone by so quickly - then again, he had missed three days of it and there were still seven more weeks left. "So, um... w-what are we going to do?"

Once the question left his mouth, Colonello stretched his mouth in a grin. "A game."

Tsuna and his friends blinked.

Colonello turned around and gestured for the others to follow him towards the rocky field that had been repaired and reconstructed over the past week due to the amount of traps that he had installed. He hopped onto one of the boulders and faced the crowd, hands on his hips.

"It's really simple," Colonello started, then pulled out several colorful bandannas and passed them out. "All of us will be wearing one of these. Your goal is the one I'm wearing."

"Eh?" Did Tsuna here right? They - they have to _what?_

"Wait..." Yamamoto scratched the back of his head, confused. "Doesn't that mean..."

"Yup!" Colonello grinned. "Your opponent will be me!"

That perked at certain Skylark's attention. (Of _course_ it would catch Hibari's attention)

"Within an hour, use whatever method you have to try to snatch my bandanna off and you win. However, if I take your bandanna off, then you're out of the game. If I take all of yours off or when the time runs out before you got mine, then I win." The blonde looked at each and every one of them. "Simple, right?"

"And what happens when we win?" Mukuro asked, interest piqued but not quite enough to willingly participate in game.

" _If_ you win," Colonello corrected with a smirk. "Besides, you're here for detention, you _have_ do this."

Mukuro narrowed his eyes at the challenge. "Kufufu, we'll see about that."

"Great! Put these on and we'll start!"

.

.

.

It had started with Hibari darting towards a still-standing Colonello, his intention was to aim for a knockout and not really the bandanna because as long as he got to have a good fight against one of the strongest people in school, he was satisfied.

A tonfa swung overhead, only to be blocked off by... a stick?

"Hehe, good speed," Colonello commented as he had causally picked up a stick lying from the ground. When the metal weapon had struck down, Colonello moved back and used the wood he picked up to successfully to Hibari at his full strength. (Tsuna had openly gaped when he saw that because it was a _stick_ and sticks were not supposed to be a match against _steel_.)The makeshift defense might have broke if Colonello hadn't considered to have the tonfa land on the end near his hand. He then kicked off towards the Skylark's head, only for the other to shift to the side and retrace his steps.

Ryohei came in right when Hibari had moved away, as if Hibari had been hiding him from view, with a right-hook.

Colonello whistled a tune as spun his tiny body, tapping the fist right when it came to have himself cartwheeled over and onto the boxer's arm. Ryohei's other arm came swinging by, but Colonello rode it instead.

Sensing danger from behind, the blonde infant gave up trying to snatch Ryohei's bandanna from his head and sped off to avoid a bamboo sword. "Nice try Takeshi!"

"Aw..."

"That was extreme!"

Colonello was forced to take to the air again when two tridents came from opposite sides, but then dynamites and grenades entered the airspace. The blonde was a bit impressed at the teamwork that they seemed to be unconsciously displaying as he kicked the dynamites in the direction of Tsuna.

"Tsuna-sama!" Gokudera exclaimed in horror and to alert the brunet to the incoming explosives. However, he didn't need to worry much because Lambo came into the picture, determination written over his face as green sparks flew off of his person.

Lightning zigzagged through the air, mostly at random but they managed to detonate the explosives prematurely. Though... that wasn't the end of it since Lambo still couldn't control his flames completely. And so, everyone that was within the vinicity had to rely on their instincts to dodge the random strikes of lightning that came their way.

"Lambo!" Tsuna exclaimed, arms up to shield his face as he blindly called out. In the chaos, Colonello managed to get close. With Rain flames apparent on his right hand while his left snagged the green bandanna worn by Lambo, Colonello got out one of eight as well as putting the lightning child to sleep.

"He's fine," Colonello answered Tsuna's unspoken worry. "And you shouldn't be so open."

"Wha -" The brunet barely managed to barrel away when Colonello delivered a midair kick.

"Any pay more attention," Colonello commented as he landed gracefully on the ground, only to take hold of flame-imbued chains around his arm and pull. He managed to thrust Hibari into the air before said person dispersed the chain extension.

Colonello paid no heed to the Skylark (which very much pissed said Skylark off) and continued talking. "If this had been a real fight... would you have been able to save Lambo?"

Tsuna's eyes widened in horror and shook his head in denial as he took a step back. "But this isn't real..."

"Real or not," Colonello gave Tsuna a look as he caught Yamamoto's sword in between his hands and forcefully guided the swordsman towards a charging boxer, which then tumbled into the flight route of Gokduera's dynamites. Yamamoto was quick on making an impromptu wall of Rain flames to snuff out the fuse.

... But that didn't stop Gokudera's ever-so short fuse from reach its end and then a fight ensued. ("You freakin' idiots!" "Haha! Sorry 'bout that!" "Extreme!" "GO DIE IN HELL!") And their unspoken teamwork broke down just like that.

"This is still a fight." The infant lectured, knocking Chrome's trident out of her hand and taking her bandanna in seconds before she could react. He took a moment to give Chrome a - "Your reflexes are too slow!" - before returning to the topic. "And your friends may get hurt. Do you want that?"

"..."

Colonello spun and did a roundhouse kick when Mukuro tried a sneak attack with Mist flames. Then he felt the ground rumble and jump out of the way in time of lava plumes. He snatched a pebble from the ground, coat it with Rain flames, and struck. It flew into a lava plume and out the other side and - _Clang!_ \- met Hibari's tonfa.

The infant grinned, barreling to the side, and - he had to take a pause at the sudden rise of pure _Sky flames_.

"The three of you," Tsuna's voice was a deep alto now, sunset orange eyes and a flame burning atop his forehead as he get got in between Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei. The trio immediately stopped fighting with each other the moment the brunet entered their vision. "Stop the nonsense."

Colonello blinked and he suddenly had a sense of deja vu. A smile played on his lips as he threw another flame-imbued pebble to test the water.

Sharp as Yamamoto's intuition was, he got in front and - _swish!_ \- swung his sword up to create a wall of Rain flames that slowed the pebble to a was then followed up by a dynamite that exploded before reaching Colonello. The smokescreen that it created told him it was a diversion and the real attack would be -

No time to finish his thought, Colonello had to block the flame-imbued fist with his two tiny arms. Ryohei angled left and Tsuna came in with a kick. Colonello was fast enough to give distance, their sudden teamwork gave him a start and probably more trouble than he originally thought.

He picked up a pebble again and thrust it at inhumane speed. Tsuna didn't bother dodging and the pebble went _through_ the teen, revealing that it was the work on illusions. (Not that Colonello hadn't known of course.)

Alarmed and his sense heightened, Colonello spun around just in time to catch the tonfa that would have met with his head. The space distorted and one Hibari Kyouya was revealed amidst the reality he was hiding in.

"Kufufu," Mukuro chuckled. "Never thought you would cooperate like this."

Hibari growled, sending a glare - and a cloud tonfa - at the above mist user.

"Hibari, Mukuro," Tsuna said sternly, obviously unlike his usual self-conscious, bumbling buffoon self. "Don't argue."

"... Omnivore..." Hibari narrowed his eyes and reclassified the brunet. Although he didn't like it when others tell him what to do, something about Tsuna made him comply. The fact that his Sky flames had clicked with Hibari's Cloud like the natural flow of a river was helping either - and dammit, that meant his flames - the ones that had always been aloof and wild - acknowledged the small brunet as his Sky... Sawada Tsunayoshi was now on the top of his bite-to-death list.

Mukuro, on the contrast, smirked mockingly, "Yeah, birdie, _don't argue_."

"..." The temperature was _frigid_ by now and _suffocating_.

Tsuna sighed - just a _sigh_ , but it was enough to shut Mukuro's trap as if the illusionist had just been thoroughly reprimanded. Now he was on the same boat as Hibari and he was _so_ going to take possession of that boy's body because he wanted to know just _how_ was it he had been affected so much by a _goddamn sigh_.

Hibari shot Mukuro shot a smirk back, being the schadenfreude that he was when the illusionist was involved.

"The two of you, _focus_ ," Tsuna urged just as Colonello had taken Ryohei's bandanna, making it three in total. Hands ignited with Sky flames, Tsuna burst forth with speed, aiming for Colobello's bandanna. The latter made a hop and rolled over Tsuna's head, but before he could even take the teen's bandanna, his body was wrapped up with chains.

Hibari let a growl tore through his throat and swung Colonello into the air within the second that he _finally_ got him. Rain flames then wash over Colonello, slowing his movement enough -

"Crap!"

\- The infant fell into a brief moment of panic when dynamites was tossed askew in the air. He wasn't able to dodge this one, he knew, but Colonello had spend quite a long time with Reborn. And because of that, Colonello had a stubborn streak a few kilometers wide. He released his own Rain flames to counter Yamamoto's and took out his good ol' rifle.

With him in the air and his targets on the ground, there was nowhere to run. Energy charged up in his rifle and with a pull of the trigger -

"Maximum Burst!"

\- Tsuna's eyes widened, his Intuition had long gave him the alarm that something was about to go astray. He gritted his teeth and stood his ground. The flames on his hand intensified, letting gloves slowly coalesce into existence at his will because he remembered he had them the first time and tried to replicate the feeling he had when he first materialized them. His friends were in danger and he wasn't going to let them get hurt.

He extended his now-gloved hands up and Sky flames spread out in a dome, shielding his friends from the energy shot that was going at full. The defensive and offensive moves came at a stalemate for several long seconds, but -

 _BOOM!_

\- Tsuna was to first to lose because his stamina in the flame-control department was less than pitiable. And to have tight control over such a large quantity of flames puts a mental strain to his mind. It wasn't something Tsuna was capable of just yet since he was, after all, still new to all of this.

All in all, the battle was Colonello's but the war was Tsuna's because Colonello had resorted to the big guns.

.

.

.

Lal gave an impressed whistle. "Okay, I can see where this is going now. He actually got Colonello to get serious."

"Meh," Reborn commented blandly. The two of them have taken to be observers from a distant when Colonello was having a one vs eight fight. "He's _weak_. Actually, all of them are."

"Couldn't argue that," Lal had a smirk coming on. "So, want me to make a few suggestions to your tor - training regiment?"

"Oh, please do," beady black eyes gleamed. "I'm lacking variety as it is."

If anyone was to see the two headmasters, then they would have already been running as _far_ as as to the other side of the Earth because the two _devils_ were collaborating... which could only mean a death worst than Death itself.

* * *

 **Okay, I would have to apologize for the late - _really_ late - update. I kinda got stuck at one point so I decided to take a break on this and come back later. The thing is, I _know_ what I want this to go but it's hard to _write_ _it down_ so please forgive for the slow updates in the future - because they _will_ be slower than a sloth in its trip up a tree.**

 **The point of Colonello's fight was to show how fragile Tsuna and co.'s teamwork is. One second, they're in sync, but the next, they're all over the place until Tsuna, in all his Hyper Dying Will glory, had to step in.**

 **Tsuna got Reborn as a private tutor and hell is a guarantee in his immediate future.**

 **... Was Tsuna's flame developing a little too quickly? I feel like it is but I'm not too sure.**

 **Thanks to** _bluesnowflakes21, Guest(4), Soukniranh, Guest(3), ilovecartoonsgirl, Guest(2), Guest(1), Lalalu, Takuz, vampireharry the 2, redcatgirl, PurpleBlue23, Mixology of Anime, LuckyKittens,PAVeY14,BlackSky83, foxchick1, latinagirl-reader2010_ **for reviewing!**


	9. His Last Will

**I apologize ahead of time for any grammar mistakes and character OCCness if it were to occur.**

 **AU. GEN Fic. No pairings.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own KHR.**

* * *

 **Summary** : Sky, Storm, Lightning, Rain, Sun, Mist, and Cloud, these were known as the seven Knights - or Elements - of the Sky in legends and myths that once appeared out of nowhere and rescued the world from disaster and guide it to an era of change. Or so it was dictated in children's books. Nowadays, there are people who have flames that goes by the same names as the weathers.

* * *

Tsuna could hear a mild thrumming in the back of his head while he was trying to sleep. _Something was coming_ , it tried to warn, but Tsuna had a mind of ignoring that little warning because he just wanted to -

 _Zzzap...!_

"Hiiiiieee!" Tsuna shrieked in broken syllables when the shocking current of _electricity_ from a _defibrillator_ blasted at him on full. He rolled out of bed with a resounding - _thud_ \- looking quite barbequed, but his attention was on the culprit of that the aforementioned defibrillator.

"About time you woke up."

... Tsuna could _not_ have imagined that one day, Satan himself would grace his presence to give him a personal wake up call (Tsuna didn't know where he should feel honored or terrified at the 'consideration'). And he was pretty sure he hadn't done any affronting deeds that could receive hell's wrath. At least, he _hoped_ he hadn't because that would be just _awful_ and Tsuna did not want to go to hell after he died.

"Why, I'm insulted _Dame-Tsuna_ ," The brunet flinched at the mocking tone. "You should be _honored_ to have me wake you up. Vongola-style."

Tsuna gaped at Reborn and sputtered indignantly. "I could've died!"

"But you didn't," Was the other's flippant - too flippant - answer.

Tsuna opened his mouth to give another argument, paused, reconsidered, and decided to avert the topic instead because something told him not to go against the seemingly harmless infant or it would be a torture worse than hell itself. (Tsuna was starting to change his mind. Hell sounded like _paradise_ compared to Reborn.) "H-how -"

"What did I say before about stuttering?"

Tsuna swallowed and retried. "How did you get into my room?!"

"The window." Reborn made it sound like it should be obvious - which, it was, seeing how said window was wide open with a night breeze... wait. Night? _Night?!_

Tsuna whipped his head towards the digital clock on the nightstand and it read in bright neon letters: **4:36 am** _._

What.

... he had to spare a moment to wonder why any _sane_ person would wake someone up at the godforsaken hour of _four in the morning,_ but then he stared at Reborn and decided wisely that, no, he shouldn't continue thinking down that path unless he had a death wish.

"Good choice."

"... that's _creepy_." Tsuna blurted out involuntarily, which resulted in him meeting a green gun at point-blank. His eyes became crossed just staring at the tiny hole that could spit out the very object that could decide his future road right there and then.

"Sorry, what was that~?"

"N-not -" Tsuna swallowed again, remembering the warning a few minutes prior about stuttering because of that sadistic gleam in the other's eye. "Nothing!"

"Good, now get your a** up and dressed because we're going to start our... little study session."

"But... but the sun's not even up yet!" Tsuna wailed, not particularly fond of that momentary pause in Reborn's sentence... nor did he particularly want to know _what_ Reborn was thinking that got him look so... so _demon_ -like.

"Does it look like I care?"

(Not particularly, no.)

Tsuna cried silently on the inside because he couldn't show it on the outside for obvious reasons or he was going to lose a few years of his life - if that gun still threatening him haven't shaved a good amount off already. (Then Tsuna briefly wonder if he had just imagined that little _sneeze_ that came from the _gun_.)

* * *

Byakuran blinked his bleary eyes, staring up out of the window of the student council room that belonged to the Mares. He was leaning over his chair, his head hung upside down because he was absolutely _bored_ of the things that he was supposed to be doing. Paperwork and the like were never things that he cared for, seeing as they just piled up and up and up without end - and he didn't even _care_ about what the students were up to and what their clubs wanted. It had nothing to do with him whatsoever -

"Byakuran," A navy haired girl took a seat next to the white-haired male. She placed a stack of paper down while smiling helplessly. "You're always like this when it comes to council duties."

"That's why you're my Vice President, Yuni-chan~" Byakuran chuckled, but then made a face at the papers that Yuni was looking over. "I can't believe that _you_ can tolerate them."

"Someone has to," Yuni quips with a pleasant smile instead of complaining that she was pretty much the _only_ one of the council that was actually doing what they were supposed to be doing. "The well-being of our students isn't just a small matter, y'know."

"Yuni-chan is always so kind and considerate," Byakuran grinned, patting the girl who was a head shorter than he was. "It really makes me wonder sometimes..." He trailed and didn't continue.

She knew what the other had been thinking, but didn't make a mention. Instead, she redirected the topic to something else. "Ietsuna-kun and his Elements are coming back from their mission. What do you plan to do?"

A fox-like grin stretched across his face as he spread open his arms. "Welcome them back of course~!" He swung his legs over the table and pushed so that his chair tips backward but not topple. He used that to do a flip and landed on the window that was large enough for the Mare president to stand and lean against its frame.

He looked back into the sky, and with the light filtering in and dabbing over Byakuran's uniform, it seemed to create a mysterious air around him. "Ne, have you heard that Ietsuna-kun has a brother, Yuni-chan?"

The Vice President of the Mare council blinked, confused. Of course she knew, and she was pretty sure Byakuran knew it too. It shouldn't be a secret to people like them, or rather, secrets can't particularly hide from them. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing," Byakuran mumbled, tapping a finger against his chin, seemingly in thought with a rare, unreadable expression that wasn't a smile. If she didn't spend as long of a time as she did with Byakuran, she wouldn't have known what could be running through that eccentric mind of the Mare's right now. But she did, and she couldn't decide what to think of it.

"I'm just wondering what he's like, is all!" Byakuran broke into a grin, looking back at Yuni. "Anyways, we should plan for Vongola council's return!"

"Just don't make it too hard on Auntie Luce, okay?" Yuni sighed exasperatedly. "She knows that the matters of the students are in our care but she still worries for their sake whenever you and Vongola dukes it out too often to count."

"Hehe, Little Luce worries too much~"

"... she's older than you."

Byakuran laughed, but there was something more to it that only Yuni could pick up. "Not by appearance."

* * *

Tsuna would like to say he was on the third floor of some obscure building somewhere on campus - but _no,_ instead he was scared _witless_ because he was trapped in a net three-stories high, hanging _outside_ of said obscure building, after failing to answer a math question while being chased by a dozen or so hungry _hounds_ that Reborn sicced on him the moment he left the safety that was his dormitory.

(He should have _really_ listen more carefully to that little warning bell in his head when he had tried to reason with himself that it wouldn't be so bad to get tutored by a headmaster.

But _noooo_ , he had been a tad _too_ optimistic about the one person that gave him the urge to live the hermit's life on the most remote mountain _on the planet_ and even then, Tsuna would still feel uneasy.)

Tsuna gulped as he looked down, his vision spinning at the sight of the ground so far away and seemed to get even _farther_.

"R-Reborn..." His voice taut and squeaky as he thread his fingers through the weaved ropes that just felt so _thin_ and ready snap at a moment's notice. "I-is this... is this really necessary?"

"Of course," The infant hitman replied squeakily, casually tossing a glance from a nearby window while chomping down on a banana. "How else would you learn that it wouldn't be a good idea to fail?" He paused, scanning Tsuna over. "But at this rate, I can tell that you'll have to be conditioned _indefinitely_ ~"

Tsuna gave his - unfortunately - tutor a look of incredulity mixed in with despair. He couldn't believe that the headmaster sounded so _cheerful._ God, what did Tsuna do in his past life to encounter this epitome of sadism?!

"Now, if you answer this correctly, you'll be free." Reborn continued, pulling out a sheet of paper. "If you don't..." Reborn _grinned_ as Leon - as Tsuna learned was the name of the chameleon - transformed into a pair of unreasonably gigantic scissors.

"Hiiieee -" Tsuna stopped mid-scream when he caught the glint in Reborn's eyes and swallowed, sweating bullets as thoughts of 'I don't want to die I'mtooyoungtodiesomeonesaveme!' flitted through his head a mile per second. His mind was in so much disarray that -

"What is the -"

"1842!"

\- that he _interrupted_ (death flag right there, Tsuna) Reborn mid-question with a random answer that popped up in his head despite _not even knowing what type of question it was supposed to be_.

"..." Reborn's gaze went from the paper to Tsuna. The silence was unnerving and Tsuna felt very dreadful of -

"That's the correct answer."

"It is?!" He couldn't believe that he had guessed right. He had _never_ guessed right. What kind of question needed 1842 as an answer?! Some freakish math problem or was it some historical date? Either way, Tsuna finally got something right for two whole hours that he had been tested! (Tsuna didn't realize that he had been digging a _deeper_ hole for himself and was close to jumping in any second now.)

"... but you interrupted me." Reborn burst Tsuna's happy bubble and that evil glint returned in his beady black eyes. "You actually _dare_ to interrupt me, Dame-Tsuna."

"Um..." Tsuna was now panicking once more, but because he was hanging in midair, he couldn't move much less find a way to escape this soon-to-be-nightmare.

"That's enough to penalize you."

Yup, nightmare.

Tsuna watched, horrified, as Reborn took Leon-scissors and - _snip!_ \- cut the only strand of rope that held Tsuna safe from becoming a bloodied mess on the ground and akin to a bug being _splat_ harshly against a hard surface. (That implied death, and Tsuna was far from ready for it.)

 _No nonono!_ Tsuna's denial rose and flames ignited upon his will. He let his bare hands produce enough flames to cancel off gravity's pull and -

 _Bang!_

\- His previous trajectory went off course at the sudden gunfire. His Sky flames coming off uncontrollable due to surprise, therefore propelling him left and right unsteadily as Reborn promptly used Tsuna as target practice for his sniping.

"New game." Reborn stated blandly, then smirked. "If you get the answers wrong, I'll shoot. If you, by some god-sent miracle, _do_ get it right, I'll be nice and warn you just before I shoot."

"..." Tsuna didn't dare to look exasperated at his tutor but that kind of condition was absolutely unfair! He was going to get sniped either way!

Fortunately, whenever Tsuna used his flames, he always get this sense of calmness that washed away unnecessary thoughts and allow him to _focus_. So Reborn had his fun ruined when Tsuna managed to get the next set of math questions _right_ after a few seconds of thinking.

The hitman knew that the brunet wasn't an actual idiot. He already made a conclusion, after reading several reports, that because of the environment that Tsuna's had been raised in, his mind had always been jumping from one thought to another, never really focusing on _one_ thing and was often cluttered together, resulting in useless junk. Tsuna was able to absorb what he learns by listening, but he could never put theories into practice because his thoughts were all over the place. The fact that his flames had been restrained for many long years added to that as well, or Tsuna might have actually fare off better than he was now.

 _Figures_. Reborn huffed indignantly, a complicated look flashed through his eyes and disappeared as quick as it came. He watched Tsuna dodge another bullet, this time with more grace as he gotten used to air mobility and finally looked more like - Reborn pushed the thought away, deciding that it was useless to continue down the lane.

Gauging that Tsuna was about to hit his limit, Reborn silently told Leon to change into a boomerang, then with precise calculations, he was able to strike Tsuna on the head the second time (because the brunet had obviously sensed the first attack coming) when the boomerang rounded back. With Tsuna's concentration successfully broken, he paused the stopwatch that he had started the moment Tsuna entered into what was known as Hyper Dying Will mode (as Tsuna would later learned the name of) and used that as a base for future comparisons. (Putting Tsuna on the edge constantly was also a good method to strengthen Tsuna's mentality, not that Reborn would ever voice his real intentions of course.)

"Ow..." Tsuna groaned from the ground. At least he hadn't fallen from that high up, maybe a story and a half but it was still better than three. He felt a burning sensation on his hands, then his eyes bugged out when he saw the state of said hands. He would have screamed that girly scream of his if not for the little warning in his head that told him that Reborn was still near by.

"Are my hands _supposed_ to burn?!" Tsuna wailed as Reborn appeared in front of him.

"Think of it this way," Reborn said all too blithely. "It's _only_ a first degree burn compared to the second degree - borderline third - that you received during your first attempt."

Tsuna opened his mouth the protest, but found Reborn's words to be within reason. He was getting better at controlling his flames... right?

"Not by my standards," Reborn was happy to pour cold water over Tsuna's head. "You're just too slow."

"... and that's supposed to be my fault?" Tsuna asked incredulously. "I'm satisfied that I can actually ignite them after a month and a half of trying!"

"Tch, you set your standards too pathetically low." Reborn scorned, the verbal weight dropping down heavily on Tsuna's head with a resounding - _thud!_ \- just like he expected. "I want you to be able to ignite your flames like you're _breathing_ and understand and apply its characteristics by the end of the _week_. Understand?"

... _No_. Tsuna gaped. He did not understand. How was it possible for him, _Dame-Tsuna_ , to fulfill all those by the end of - wait. A week?! How the f*** was he going to accomplish that within seven days when he only _recently_ discovered his flames?!

"Please, I have already given you a _generous_ amount of time," Reborn rebutted satirically. "Or do you actually want to _half_ the due date? Oh you do? What a _diligent_ student you are, Dame-Tsuna. Fine, as the _understanding tutor_ that I am, I'll cut the allocated time by -"

"... No." Tsuna stopped Reborn from completing his sentence - he regretted the moment he did, but it was too late to take back his impulsive action so he could only move on and hope for the best. "I'm sorry. I won't complain anymore. I'll take the seven days."

"Did you just interrupt me _again_ , Dame-Tsuna?"

"... yes."

Reborn stared.

Tsuna was resigned to blunt and honest answers because beating around the bush, he knew, would only make matters worse.

"Tch," The Sun flame user clicked his tongue in disappointment. "For someone who's supposed to be _Dame_ , you catch on too quickly."

Tsuna somehow knew that Reborn was hinting him to stay as an idiot... and he wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry at that. It wasn't _his_ fault that his comprehension speed seemed to be faster than normal (meaning now on average with everyone else) nowadays! (That was supposed to be good news for Tsuna, but now... Tsuna was having second thoughts whether or not it was a good thing because, you know, he didn't exactly like the fact that he was now _enlightened_ about his relation with the _mafia_ and everything that was, again, a big ' _no no'_ about it.)

"Class is going to start soon." Reborn glanced at the moping brunet but of course, instead of comforting Tsuna, Reborn gave him a disdainful click of his tongue (though there was no ill-intentions in it) at the boy for being such a wimp. "Stop dawdling around, or do you want me to -"

"Can't be late to class!" And Tsuna straightened up and dashed away with a comical dust trail behind his wake before Reborn could finish his threat.

.

.

.

Tsuna was being stared at. He quivered, wanting to just blend in with the walls - or maybe start learning one of those ninja techniques or - or goddammit, Tsuna should've just skipped class entirely because - because his _entire class_ was _gawking_ at him so _blatantly_. Or to be specific, at the now- _orange_ tie that he worn to school.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Please tell me I'm colorblind."

"If you're colorblind then you wouldn't be _seeing_ colors in the first place."

"Oh my god."

"It's _orange!_ "

"Sh**, why is _he_ a f***ing _Sky_?!"

"Oi," Gokudera whipped his head towards the one who made the last comment, dynamite already out and prepared to be lit. "If you have a f***ing problem with Tsuna-sama, then you have a f***ing problem with me, capiche?!"

"G-Gokudera-kun..." Tsuna tugged at the bomber's sleeve weakly, but had somehow looked as though he was trying to hide behind the silveret instead (it wasn't far from the truth because those _stares_ were agonizing.) "Let's put away the explosives now..."

"Haha," Yamamoto grinned with his hands behind his head. "It's sure lively in the morning, ne, Tsuna?"

Said brunet gulped, sweat sliding down from his temple at the (in his opinion) precarious situation. (Because whether or not the General Ed. building was Flame-proof or not, those were _explosives_. Someone - mainly _Tsuna_ \- was going to get hurt.) "Too lively, don't you think?"

Before his two companions could speak any further, Tsuna pushed a snarky bomber and a carefree swordsman to their seats all the while ignoring the still-glares that he received because, despite now being labeled as a Sky, of how he was interacting with Gokudera and Yamamoto. (Tsuna knew it, his two friends were being worshiped like _gods_. And he was finding himself blinded by such holy light... maybe it wasn't a good idea after all and he should take a step back and -)

"Ne, Tsuna," Yamamoto waved a hand in front of said teen's face when the other had been in a daze. "Are you okay?"

 _No_. Tsuna wanted to answer. Because the training in the morning had been worth a week's exhaustion and he was still trying to come into terms with the fact that he was indefinitely involved with the underworld. "Um... yeah."

Tsuna internally grimaced. He felt bad lying to his friends but... were they friends? He was starting to doubt again, because they had hid something so _crucial - no, don't think about it._ He tried to tell himself that it doesn't matter. As long as they stand by his side - as they have been since they met - then it's fine even if they hid something from him. (Tsuna was sensitive, he knew, but it wasn't like he had _friends_ \- _real ones_ \- before.)

(His opinions were split. One of distrust while the other, the much more _dominating_ opinion deign tell Tsuna to give his companions his absolute trust. And honestly, Tsuna didn't understand why he trusted the latter wholeheartedly as if it was a _given_.)

Noting the underlying uneasiness, Yamamoto and Gokudera exchanged a glance. Although they wanted to believe Tsuna's words, his wavering Sky flames were saying otherwise. (They could sense it because they had Harmonized with said flames recently and it had been so _easy_ unlike the times when the few other Skies tried to Harmonized with them through force. They were unsuccessful in trying to draw such strong elements into their domains of course, because their Sky flames were relatively _weaker_. Elements would never submit to a weaker Sky - especially when said weaker Sky had been so _audacious_ as to try to force _them_ into submission.)

"Tsuna -"

 _Screeee -_

* * *

The aircraft had only just landed into the mini-private airport that Ultima Thule had built on its campus since, after all, the school _was_ situated on a remote island off Italy so the only transportation to and fro the school was either by air or by ship. (Tsuna himself had came by boat with his father, then drove to the school entrance by car - as provided by the school.)

The hatch opened and stairs decided just as someone walked out, stretching. The shiny crest of Vongola on his shirt was a clear indicator that he was part of the Vongola Council. "Ngh... that was tiring."

The male stood at the exit, stretching his arms before another hand shoved at him. "Can it Ietsuna, what part of 'tiring' did you suffer from?" Another male came out from the plane, his raven hair slick back with only a few strands falling over his forehead. "Last we saw, you were stuffing yourself with food."

The aforementioned blonde didn't seem to mind the push and had, instead, landed agilely on the ground after twisting in midair. He gave his Storm an indignant glare. "Carter, I hadn't eaten in _days_."

Carter snorted but didn't refute.

"Ietsuna-sama." Sirene had been waiting in a safe distance while the plane landed and was only now within hearing range. "Welcome back."

"Sirene," Ietsuna smiled pleasantly in greeting as the rest of his guardians clambered down the plane, exhausted from the looks of how one of them stumbled and tripped, therefore causing a domino effect and everyone just fell flat on their faces with resounding thuds.

"UGH!" The one that had been used as a cushion for all others, a Sun from the color of his tie, flung all the weights off of his person. "What the hell's your problem Lycus?! If you can't walk straight, then don't walk at all!"

"Uriel, shut up." Another, a Rain, groaned as he sat up. "You may be full of energy but we're all tired."

Sirene remained unaffected by the commotion that she considered as background noise. "How did the negotiation went?"

"Mm..." Ietsuna ignored the commotion as well while Carter had simply stood off to the side snickering at his companions like the schadenfreude that he was. "A few diplomatic discussions, a lot of paperwork, and a few... _conflicts._ " He made a motion with his hand before changing topics. "How are things here? I know we missed a month of school -"

"And you were quite happy about it too." Carter blithely inputted.

"Shut up," Ietsuna glared before coughing into his fist. "Anyways, status?"

"The usual," Sirene reported dutifully. "Although there was a -"

 _Screeee -_ The speaker made an unbearable screech that caused its listeners to cringe. " **Hm~ Testing testing~ Can everyone here me okay?** "

Ietsuna blinked, then frowned slightly. "What's Byakuran up to now?"

" **Alrighty! How's everyone on this fine day - oh? You want me to cut to the chase? Hehe, then I shall!** " There was a momentary pause and an inhale before the volume seemed to be blasted on max and Byakuran's voice was suddenly filled with extra enthusiasm. " **Y'know, it's been so peaceful in the past month and I'm just so _booorrreeeddd!_** _"_

Ietsuna's eye twitched at the Mare's comment. "Don't tell me..."

" **So I though 'what best to relief this boredom than to have everyone play a game'?** " Byakuran chirped into the speaker, then cleared his throat before continuing. " **Listen up, because this is going to be a school-wide event - approved by the Head Council hehe~ We're going to be playing Capture the Flame!** "

Right at the same time that Byakuran declared the name of the so-called game, something orange shot up into the air, but none of them were alarmed because they knew that the avian-like object that was now flying away was an invention by a well-known inventor on campus.

" **Whoever side captures the designated target will have first dips over the Central facilities for the entire year!** " You could hear the maniacal grin in Byakuran's voice. " **Game starts in half an hour so get yourselves geared up and ready to go!** "

.

.

.

When Ietsuna and his crew entered the Vongola Mansion, they were greeted with many pairs of eyes and ecstatic greetings and welcome backs from their fellow peers. Ietsuna was rather helpless at the students enthusiasm, but he still felt happy in being the looked up too. After all, who doesn't like the feeling of adoration from those around them?

"Oi, Ietsuna," Carter gave the latter a good-natured but disdainful look as though he didn't want to be anywhere near the blonde in fear of being associated with him. "Your nose is growing."

"Shut up." The Ietsuna glared back, sometimes wondering how he was even friends with this guy with the sarcastic tongue.

"Now, Casey, don't be so -"

"Strike one, moron." The raven head glared at the only other female in their group, who in addition to the school uniform and an indigo tie with a Mist motif, wore a french beret over her chestnut brown hair.

"Uh..." Said girl deemed as 'moron' blinked innocently as if she wasn't doing it on purpose. Unfortunately... she wasn't. "Is it... Chase?"

"..." Strike two.

"Ah... wait, I got this." She said again, massaging her forehead with on head while the other stretched out as a stop sign. Her silver-blue eyes then lit up as if she finally found the answer to a really hard math problem. "It's Crab! Am I right or am I right?!"

"..." And... strike three!

"I'm totally right!"

Carter was _so_ done with this.

"Pffft- HAHAHA!" The Sun couldn't hold in his laughter anymore and leaned against the nearest person to him, who happened to a snickering Ietsuna. "Oh my god, _Crab!_ That's the best one yet Dianne!"

"Why thank you, Neil."

"... Ahem," The Sun ceased his laugh immediately and faked a cough. (Not really funny any more when it was his turn.) "I-It's Uriel..."

Carter, meanwhile, twitched his eye as a vein bulged on his head. "Dianne Bonnet, for god's sake, can you remember _anyone's_ name properly?"

"Of course I do," Dianne blinked at Carter as if she was looking at an idiot, then puffed her chest out proudly as she pointed at Ietsuna. "I remember Boss's name, it's Boss!"

"..."

Carter took a long deep breath to prevent himself from exploding from having to deal with the forgetful girl, who, for some reason, seem to remember everything _but_ people's names. "You... are you _sure_ you're not doing this on purpose?"

"Eh?" Dianne tilted her head cluelessly before turning to the Cloud with a look of doubt. "Sis, what got Clam tied up in a knot today?"

"Oi, it's Carter dammit, _Carter!_ " Said Storm finally burst, static red sparks flying around his body as he glowered at the other. "If you want seafood, how about I toss you into the ocean?! I'm sure the crustaceans would _love_ to give up their lives to an idiot like you!"

Sirene have a rare look of sympathy on her face as she looked towards the Storm. She knew that her sister wasn't someone who anyone could approach what with her ... _unique_ trait and all, even she couldn't handle the girl sometimes - and Dianne was supposed to be the _older_ one too. How they two of them had such different personalities was anyone's guess, including her. (Sirene had checked (on multiple occasions) that they were, indeed, blood-related, so that possibility was ruled out.)

"Alright, enough," Ietsuna coughed into his fist. "We're wasting time instead of getting to business. The game will started soon."

"Soon yes, but who _is_ the Sky from ours side?" The Sun, Uriel, pointed out, a hand running through his sky blue hair. He paused, looking around the room in doubt. "I mean, we're all here right? But I don't see the one with the target thingy."

Sirene wanted to say something but she didn't get the chance when her silver-green eyes turned sharp at the two approaching people.

"Ah, Dan, Hansen," Ietsuna greeted with a smile, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Do you need something?"

Hansen waved lazily back. "Council President doesn't seem to be worry whether or not we win the Central facilities or not."

"Of course I do," Ietsuna raised a brow. Why wouldn't he? The Central facilities , as the name stated, were built in the middle of campus. It had all the latest equipment and training rooms for students of the academy. And because it's in the center, it was decided that it was neutral grounds between Mare and Vongola. Of course, not everyone could use the facilities at once, so if they ever needed something from there - especially if it's a dispute between Mare and Vongola. So to them, gaining control of the Central facilities was as good as having bragging rights over the Mares. "Isn't that why we're all here?"

"Funny you should say that," Dan replied back, leaning his weight on one leg. "Shouldn't you be worried about the person who's the target on our side?"

Ietsuna stared at the other for several long seconds before speaking. "He isn't here?"

"Unfortunately, no," Dan smirked.

"Lycus, Cione," Ietsuna called, his gaze stay fixed on Dan for any changes in his expression. "Go look for any Vongola students that are still roaming on campus and bring them back before the game starts."

The Lightning and Rain respectively responded a positive before they headed out.

"Who's the target from our side anyways?" The blonde's eyes then narrowed as he swept his gaze across the room and frowned when he didn't find any of the Skies in the room. "Don't tell me it's Xanxus, he wouldn't care about these things." He knew that compared to Mare, they had fewer Skies (they only have a pitiable number of three) however, Vongola made up the quantity with _quality._ They Skies were much more skilled in using their flames than those of Mares'. Xanxus and Dino have been placed top in the rankings since _before_ they had even reached Expert.

"You wouldn't be able to guess." Dan's smirk grew wider as if he found something interesting. "It's a newbie."

"Eh?" Ietsuna blinked, looking at the other warily. He should be happy that Vongola got another Sky flame user, but... why was he getting a bad feeling about this? "We have a new Sky?"

"Hehe," Hansen chuckled, continuing off of Dan. "An interesting little guy really." His eyes gleamed as he fixated his gaze at Ietsuna. "Interesting surname too."

"..." Ietsuna turned to Sirene for an answer. He didn't like associating with Dan and Hansen. Not only because Ietsuna always found himself putting his guards up against the two, but their famiglias were also at odds with each other at times in certain matters. They have ambitions, Ietsuna knew, but he couldn't find any openings in them to bring them down a notch for being so arrogant.

"It's..." Sirene knitted her brows, somewhat hesitant because she wasn't sure if the two of them were related. After all, Sawada should be a common surname in Japan, right? Also, she'd only found out about the boy's attribute a few days before and that was after said person had been trying to awaken his flames for an entire _month_. That was one of the reasons she wasn't sure of their relation. Ietsuna was a rather talented Sky, and for someone that was related to him, he should be too far off from Ietsuna. Besides, Ietsuna rarely spoke about his family so she and her companions weren't sure of Ietsuna's family situation. They wouldn't dare to pry either, he was their Sky after all, they respected his privacy. "It's a new student scouted personally by Headmaster Reborn."

"What?" Ietsuna and Carter voiced in unison, both with interest, though the former seem more suspicious. They knew that Reborn - or the rest of the headmasters for that matter - wouldn't act without reason. The only other times that they knew the headmasters made _personal_ trips were to accept those seven special Pure Element students - wait... wouldn't only only mean -

"Sawada must be common in Japan, no?" Dan chuckled, taking advantage of Sirene's hesitance to toy with Ietsuna. "Though...Tsunayoshi is an odd name."

"... wait." Ietsuna blinked, his mind unable to register the first and last name separately at the moment. "Did you just..."

"Tsunayoshi Sawada," Dan was magnanimous for once and went straight to the point. "If our sources didn't make a mistake, it should be -"

"... Tsunayoshi?" Ietsuna blurted, furrowing his brows in thought because that name sounded so _familiar_ that he _should_ -

"- your little brother." Dan finished with a chuckle, not minding that he was cut-off. He watched in amusement as Ietsuna went from confusion, then to mulling, and finally to shock with paling complexion, which was then followed by -

 _Swoosh!_

"Ietsuna?!"

"Boss where are you going?"

"Tsuna, wait!"

Dan looked at the empty spot that the Vongola Council President once occupied, smiling as if he had expected that to happen. He had been curious about Tsuna because of his last name so he sent people out to investigate Sawada Tsunayoshi's backgrounds for the past month. A bit of a surprise when he found out that the the brunet's information was much more difficult than the average civilian, but then again, it all made sense once he dug out the boy's origins. He had to admit, Vongola had really kept a tight lid, that the heir wasn't an only child. Of course, with his Family's connections and resources, he was still able to find it out even if it took more effort than normal.

He was pleasantly surprised that Ietsuna would care that much for a sibling that he hadn't come in contact with for several years. Dan inwardly tutted in amusement, Ietsuna had exposed a weakness of his so easily. And what was even more interesting was that they weren't even -

"Wait, little brother?" Uriel gaped, looking back and breaking Dan's train of thoughts. "When - how - since when did Tsuna have a _brother_?!"

"Close your mouth or a fly's going to get in," Carter shot a look at his companion, then shut said jaws for Uriel since the Sun didn't look like he was going to come back to earth anytime soon. He was a little surprise too, but had glared at Dan and Hansen. He knew that they did it on purpose, they wanted to know how Ietsuna would respond the so-called little brother that Ietsuna was supposed to have. And that _idiota_ just _had_ to fall for the bait too.

"Don't try anything funny. We're on neutral grounds so even if you target Ietsuna's sibling, it ain't going to happen on campus." Carter warned before turning to the Mist and Cloud siblings. "Sirene, Dianne, stay here and plan the battle strategy with the rest of the students." He paused before adding while glancing to the corner of his eyes. "We can't let someone mess with _our_ fort when the Boss is away."

"Understood." Sirene answered as she and her sister watched their fellow companions going after their leader. Sirene then gave an icy glare back at Dan and Hansen,, but said nothing as she strode past them.

* * *

Through the speaker, Byakuran had explained that the game was similar to Capture the Flag. But instead of having flags, there were flames. One designated target randomly selected for each side, both of which possessed Sky flames (Lady Luck must really have a grudge against Tsuna for him of all Skies to be chosen). The side that captured the opponent's selected Sky - or destroy the target on their chests - wins. Also, to make things easier on both sides, every ten minutes, the sky would project (courtesy of illusions) the location of each target and as long as they capture the target, _anything else_ goes.

Tsuna was absolutely _horrified_ in lieu of actually listening to the rules, because he has that accursed target on his jacket and he couldn't take it off no matter what how hard he tried to pull. He had just been _sitting_ there when that bird-like thing wreathed in flames flew in from the window. Tsuna had shrieked ( _"Hiiiieeee!"_ ) upon sight and fell off of his seat before scrambling away from said object because that thing was obviously possessed by a ghost that held a grudge against his past life or something and came back to haunt him.

He still couldn't get away though, seeing as how the now-target-like thing was currently latched onto his chest. (He was cursed, he just knew it. Even that little alien in his head told him so.) So he was left to mope in a corner while Yamamoto and Gokudera tried to comfort him.

"Haha, it'll be fun Tsuna!" Comforted Yamamoto.

"As expected that it would be Tsuna-sama!" Gokudera had proudly announced.

Tsuna didn't agree with his friends sentiments. Especially when he would later be chased by a mob of students from Mare, all of which carrying some sort of flaming weapons in their hands and shooting bullets like no tomorrow. (When the rule said anything goes, _anything_ \- minus killing - goes.)

"Tch, those b*****d Mares." One student growled as they all filled out of the classroom as if this was a _normal_ occurrence. (It probably was.) For the duration of the game, class was put on hold (the teachers had been warned beforehand but it wasn't like they would complain about a break or three) to allow the students to have free reign. "They just had to pick on the wimpiest kid we have as a target!"

"Oi," Gokudera growled in hostility. "I dare you to say that again."

The same teen clammed up and hurried out of class, not wanting to go head to head with the infamous Hurricane Bomb.

Tsuna peeped out from behind Gokudera, pulling on the silverette's sleeve as a silent gesture for the latter to back down while also curious as to what his classmates were doing. "W-where are they g-going?"

"Vongola Mansion," Yamamoto explained. "When these kind of things happen, we all gather into Vongola Mansion to brainstorm battle plans."

"A-ah?" Tsuna paled. A part of him had been hoping this was all a big prank but from how everyone was reacting, Tsuna's hope was washing down the drain.

"Haha, don't worry, Tsuna!" Yamamoto assured after seeing his friend's scared look. "You have us and we definitely won't let anything bad happen to you!"

Tsuna smiled at them, a certain warmth bubbling in his chest at his friends' reassurance. "Thanks guys..."

"What are you three still doing here for?" The squeaky voice from Reborn caught the trio's attention, and they realized that they were now the only ones in class.

"R-Reborn?" Tsuna squeaked upon seeing the walking disaster, and tried to turn invisible. (If only he could.)

The smirk on the infant's face wasn't helping Tsuna much. In fact, he felt like he had lost a few years. (He wouldn't even be surprised if his death was right around the corner with all that was happening around him lately.) "Actually, please, stay where you are. I really want to see how you'll be able to fare against a complete set of artillery and some not even the government can get a hand on being fired your way the moment your location is announced in twenty-two minutes."

Hell. No. Tsuna was _done_. There was _no way_ Tsuna would want to be embroiled into the chaos that was going to happen - his Intuition was blaring neon signs of of upcoming danger as if to prove his point. So, he tried to take off his jacket and throw it out of the window. Thing was, said jacket _flew right back at him_ and floating mockingly in his face. He repeat, a _jacket_ was _mocking_ him. (The story of his life.)

Well, there was only thing Tsuna could possibly conclude now. His jacket was hosting a real live ghost and said ghost had a grudge against him for reasons only the ghost would know and - and Tsuna did the only thing that seemed appropriate at this moment.

"HIIIIEEEEE!" Tsuna bolted, but to his dismay, his jacket followed as well.

"Tsuna!"

"Tsuna-sama!"

And then started a wild goose chase that didn't make sense because there was a _jacket_ chasing after a terrified Tsuna, and no matter where he tried to hide, said jacket would _always_ find him and would display itself in front of Tsuna's face. Worse than that, his friends thought he was _playing around_ as if a floating jacket was a _normal occurrence_.

"EXTREME TAG!" Ryohei had appeared out of nowhere - like usual - and also joined Yamamoto and Gokudera in the chase, who was then followed by Lambo and - and why was his group of idiosyncratic friends gathering together? Tsuna was pretty sure he hadn't called them -

" **Thirty minutes' time is up! If you'll look to the sky, our illusionists are projecting the location of your targets right now!** "

\- _oh no._ Tsuna wasted half an hour panicking instead of finding a good hiding spot (not that it'll do anything but it'll at least make Tsuna _feel_ safer) and now, he was in the wide open with only his (eccentric) friends to help. This was not good. This was _not. Good._

Lambo stared curiously when Tsuna suddenly stopped running and pulled out a piece of paper and pencil out of nowhere. "Ne, Tsuna-nii, what are you doing?"

"Writing my Last Will."

"..."

Apparently, Tsuna has officially lost it (and officially joining the crazy club - if he hadn't already).

Yamamoto was actually sensible enough to take a look at their surroundings because the so-called 'tag' had took them outside. "Um... guys?" His hesitant voice attracted several pairs of eyes - minus Tsuna, who was occupied with preparing himself for the high possibility of being mauled to death at the moment (or that was what he was muttering about anyways as he wrote).

"I think..." The swordsman said slowly, amber-brown eyes narrowing in seriousness. "We're on the edge of Mare territory."

The rustling of leaves from the bushes and trees immediately caught their attention, and hurried footsteps of what Tsuna could imagine to be an _army_ came in their direction, all of which spelled anything but good in Tsuna's dictionary.

It did not take very long for them to meet and be surrounded by the Mare students, who had the Mare crest stitched on their collars. It was much more simplistic than Vongola's, since it was two long dandelion-like puffs crossing each other.

However, what made Tsuna almost have a heart attack was the sight of guns, swords, daggers, grenades, whips, poles, _weapons_ that were being taken out. Reborn hadn't been joking when he said a _complete_ set of artillery (It ranged from A to Z no less!) and more.

Tsuna wondered if he could still finish that will.

* * *

 **Haha... sorry for the really late update, but thanks to** _OperaEagle IcelynLacelett_ **for beta'ing it!**

 **Tsuna's life. Period.**

 **And presenting Byakuran, Yuni, Tsuna's older brother and his guardians! As you can see, one of Ietsuna's nicknames also happens to be 'Tsuna' (It ain't a typo!)**

 **On another note, don't know when I'll write the next chapter so don't get your hopes too high. (Or it'll take a deeper fall)**

 **Happy reading!** **ヾ(＾∇＾)**

 **P.S. A show of hands, who was mislead by the chapter title?**


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